A mission of the Franciscans of Divine Mercy. We are a welcoming and affirming faith community to all who feel disenfranchised, unwanted, and rejected by Faith Communities. We welcome all persons who believe Christ was the redeemer and savior. The mission pastor is Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Friday, April 17, 2009
Divine Mercy Sunday Reflection
Divine Mercy Sunday
A Reflection by Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.missionstsergius.org
“And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened”. Luke 11:9-10 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened”. Matthew 7:7-8
The above statement is found in two of the four gospels and I have chosen to use it to emphasize my reflection for this Divine Mercy Sunday which is also the anniversary of the founding of the Franciscans of Divine mercy. The readings for this Sunday have one very important point to make and that is the infinite mercy and love of God for everyone on this planet earth. Therefore it is very appropriate that this Sunday be dedicated to Divine Mercy. In the reading from 1 John 5:1-6 we hear these words : “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loves him that begat loves him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world:”
In Deuteronomy 6:5 we read “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Which Christ quoted when asked what the greatest commandment was in Matthew 22: 34-40 to which he added “the second is like unto it, love your neighbor as you love yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”. In John 13:34 Christ told us “A new commandment I give to you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” LOVE is the main element and LOVE is what God is. Where there is LOVE there is God and where God is there is infinite mercy and love.
So how do we show that love? We might do as those early followers did in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles 4:32-37 are said to have done; “for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made to every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet”. Which is one of the principals St. Francis wanted in his rules, which Innocent III approved 800 years ago last Tuesday the 14th, for the order he founded later to be known as “THE FRANCISCANS”, that they own nothing of their own and use what they receive for the benefit of spreading The Good News of Salvation and to help the poor, sick, aged and societies outcasts.
The gospel relates how Jesus appeared to the apostles and disciples who had locked themselves in a room for fear that they would be persecuted and gave them the powers which have been handed down to all priests ever since at their ordination when they are anointed “Jesus and stood in the middle, and said to them, Peace be to you. And when he had so said, he showed to them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be to you: as my Father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive you the Holy Spirit: Whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted to them; and whosesoever sins you retain, they are retained ……these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through his name.” John 20:19-31
I often feel that the problems we have in this world are primarily due to the fact that so many do not love themselves and therefore they are incapable of loving anyone else let alone loving someone they do not know or try to get to know and understand. The troubles, strife, greed, genocide, poverty, war, discrimination that have and still cause so much grief in this world are the result of people not loving themselves and/or loving the God who created them. People look for the faults in, not only others, but themselves and dwell on them rather than on what is good. People tend to hold on to the negative things of their life rather than look at the good around them. I have seen this attitude cause people to actually be physically sick.
As followers of Christ we are called to seek out the light of God’s truth, to ask God to help us to know His will, to knock on the door of heaven and we have been told that if we doo this we will be heard, the door will be opened and what we seek we will find. That is what the infinite and unlimited Divine Mercy and Love of God is all about.
I begin each day with this prayer in the hopes that God will be light my way and let me know his will.
Prayer for God’s Infinite Love
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD, March 24th 2006
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
Almighty and merciful God, open my mind, my heart, and my soul to your infinite love. Instill within me the knowledge of your truth. Guide me in your ways in all the things I do so that I may be to others a reflection of your love towards them. Allow the light of your truth to flow through me towards all I encounter this day in order that they may come to know you better. I pray that all those with whom I come in contact each and every day may be brought into a closer union with you and enjoy your promise of salvation earned through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, in His passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
I humbly ask this in the name of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
Friday, April 03, 2009
Palm Sunday 2009 Reflection
In truth this man was a son of God
A Reflection for Palm Sunday 2009
Based on the Readings from Isaiah 50:4-7, Psalm 22, Philippians 2:6-11, Mark 14:1-15:47
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
‘Abba (Father)!’ he said ‘Everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it.” These words cried out by Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane should be a constant reminder to us that it is alright to ask God to lift a burden from us. The Gospel reading for this Sunday of the three year cycle is from Mark 14 and it tells of the events leading up to and through the passion and death of Christ.One curious passage in the Gospel relates an incident that many choose to overlook and it is just one line long it is part of the story that tells how the disciples and apostles abandoned Christ. “And they all deserted him and ran away. A young man who followed him had nothing on but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked.” The symbolism here is clear to me that we are naked and exposed by our actions. So many try to hide their dirty laundry with fancy clothes but before God we are all seen naked for exactly who we are. The Gospel story today is a telling of the entire passion and a different story than the celebration that Palm Sunday commemorates, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem where we hear the people shouting; “Hosanna! Blesses is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel” It can be assumed that many of those same people who were shouting Hosanna, four days later were in the crowds shouting, “Crucify Him” because he did not meet their expectations or because they succumbed to greed and accepted bribes from officials of the temple. Further on in the Gospel reading it is related how Christ Called out “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?” which, I believe , allows us the right to ask the same of God when we feel He might have abandoned us. The essence and the truth is summed up in the words of the centurion who witnessed Christ crucifixion and death on the cross, “In truth this man was a son of God”.Paul’s letter to the Philippians sums up the essence of Christ’s life, “But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. Over the last few years books and movies have attempted to raise questions about Jesus Christ’s life and soon a new movie is coming out that follows up on THE DIVINCI CODE, HOLY BLOOD-HOLY GRAIL AND THE LOST GOSPELS. Some claim they should change our beliefs concerning Christ and our Faith. The truth is Jesus Christ lived, Christ died, Christ rose from the dead. Christ was sent to earth by God to save all people of the world, not a select few. All these so called new discoveries and stories should only serve to strengthen our faith and belief in Almighty God. They change nothing about the main facts. Who cares if Christ had a relationship with Mary of Magdala, the fact is Christ was a real person and proclaimed a new covenant with God which carried on and followed that made with Moses. All the numerous non-religious historical documents acknowledge that Jesus was real. All of them affirm that he gave us a new covenant, “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, MIND, SOUL AND BODY AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU” All based on writings of the early Christians; in many cases, they support what is written in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospels we know are the Gospels accepted, mainly on the advice and writings of St. Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons about the year 180, who called the other Gospels “Heresies”. The Gnostic Gospels, as the lost Gospels are called, proclaimed that salvation could be achieved by knowledge. That is true also, Knowledge of who God is, Knowledge of how we can serve God, Knowledge of God’s intent; all of these are necessary in order for us to faithfully serve God. Did not Jesus Himself say, “Seek and you will find, Knock and it will be opened to you, Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:6-9) None of these “recent” findings change a thing. The Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ opened the road to salvation to us. Even if the most recent “Gospel of Judas” has any truth, it affirms that Jesus had to die in order for our salvation to be assured. In it, it is purported to state, “For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me." By that, Gnostic scholars conclude Jesus meant “by helping him get rid of his physical flesh, Judas would act to liberate the true spiritual self or divine being within Jesus.” During this Week, let us stop the dissentions that separate all who believe in Jesus Christ and work together to come together as the one family of Christ. Let’s begin living the message of Jesus Christ in our actions, thoughts, words and deeds. Let us be completely faithful to Almighty God and Jesus Christ proclaim loudly, “HOSANNA, HOSANNA, TO THE SON OF DAVID, HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST! AMEN
A Reflection for Palm Sunday 2009
Based on the Readings from Isaiah 50:4-7, Psalm 22, Philippians 2:6-11, Mark 14:1-15:47
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
‘Abba (Father)!’ he said ‘Everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it.” These words cried out by Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane should be a constant reminder to us that it is alright to ask God to lift a burden from us. The Gospel reading for this Sunday of the three year cycle is from Mark 14 and it tells of the events leading up to and through the passion and death of Christ.One curious passage in the Gospel relates an incident that many choose to overlook and it is just one line long it is part of the story that tells how the disciples and apostles abandoned Christ. “And they all deserted him and ran away. A young man who followed him had nothing on but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked.” The symbolism here is clear to me that we are naked and exposed by our actions. So many try to hide their dirty laundry with fancy clothes but before God we are all seen naked for exactly who we are. The Gospel story today is a telling of the entire passion and a different story than the celebration that Palm Sunday commemorates, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem where we hear the people shouting; “Hosanna! Blesses is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel” It can be assumed that many of those same people who were shouting Hosanna, four days later were in the crowds shouting, “Crucify Him” because he did not meet their expectations or because they succumbed to greed and accepted bribes from officials of the temple. Further on in the Gospel reading it is related how Christ Called out “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?” which, I believe , allows us the right to ask the same of God when we feel He might have abandoned us. The essence and the truth is summed up in the words of the centurion who witnessed Christ crucifixion and death on the cross, “In truth this man was a son of God”.Paul’s letter to the Philippians sums up the essence of Christ’s life, “But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. Over the last few years books and movies have attempted to raise questions about Jesus Christ’s life and soon a new movie is coming out that follows up on THE DIVINCI CODE, HOLY BLOOD-HOLY GRAIL AND THE LOST GOSPELS. Some claim they should change our beliefs concerning Christ and our Faith. The truth is Jesus Christ lived, Christ died, Christ rose from the dead. Christ was sent to earth by God to save all people of the world, not a select few. All these so called new discoveries and stories should only serve to strengthen our faith and belief in Almighty God. They change nothing about the main facts. Who cares if Christ had a relationship with Mary of Magdala, the fact is Christ was a real person and proclaimed a new covenant with God which carried on and followed that made with Moses. All the numerous non-religious historical documents acknowledge that Jesus was real. All of them affirm that he gave us a new covenant, “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, MIND, SOUL AND BODY AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU” All based on writings of the early Christians; in many cases, they support what is written in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospels we know are the Gospels accepted, mainly on the advice and writings of St. Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons about the year 180, who called the other Gospels “Heresies”. The Gnostic Gospels, as the lost Gospels are called, proclaimed that salvation could be achieved by knowledge. That is true also, Knowledge of who God is, Knowledge of how we can serve God, Knowledge of God’s intent; all of these are necessary in order for us to faithfully serve God. Did not Jesus Himself say, “Seek and you will find, Knock and it will be opened to you, Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:6-9) None of these “recent” findings change a thing. The Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ opened the road to salvation to us. Even if the most recent “Gospel of Judas” has any truth, it affirms that Jesus had to die in order for our salvation to be assured. In it, it is purported to state, “For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me." By that, Gnostic scholars conclude Jesus meant “by helping him get rid of his physical flesh, Judas would act to liberate the true spiritual self or divine being within Jesus.” During this Week, let us stop the dissentions that separate all who believe in Jesus Christ and work together to come together as the one family of Christ. Let’s begin living the message of Jesus Christ in our actions, thoughts, words and deeds. Let us be completely faithful to Almighty God and Jesus Christ proclaim loudly, “HOSANNA, HOSANNA, TO THE SON OF DAVID, HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST! AMEN
Friday, March 06, 2009
Here I Am Lord
A Reflection for the Second Sunday of Lent 2009
Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18, Psalm 115:10,15-19,Romans 8:31-34, Mark 9:2-10
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
A Ministry of the Refpormed Catholic Church International of N. E.
www.missionstsergius.org
“God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he called. ‘Here I am’ he replied.” so begins the first reading for the Second Sunday of Lent. The reading tells the story of God testing Abraham’s faith and loyalty by asking him to sacrifice his only child. When Abraham is about to offer his son Isaac and angel of the Lord stopped him with these words; “But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he said. ‘I am here’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son”
Exactly what should we learn from this reading? We should learn that God sometimes tests us by asking us to accept things or to do something that we normally would never think of doing. God asks us to bear burdens that are unpleasant or difficult in order to test us in our love and faith of God. Another important lesson we can learn is that if we accept these trials and burdens God will reward us just as he did Abraham with these words; “because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.”
The second reading for this Sunday strengthens and confirms what I believe we can gain from the readings with the following words; “With God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.”
“With God on our side who can be against us?” What comforting words and ones we need to hold securely in our hearts. If we seek God and love God and accept the burdens he gives us without complaint God will be there to sustain us and to lift us up. We need to remember that God will never ask us to carry a burden that we are unable to carry or that He will not remove when it begins to bee more than we can carry. The secret is that we need to place our trust in God and accept the challenge or burden as Abraham did. Christ was the ultimate sacrifice which was offered to God on our behalf. Christ suffered like no one else has ever sacrificed first by being rejected just as many who love God are rejected because they are divorced or their sexual orientation. Christ was then abused just as many children and others who may have physical or mental shortcomings or whose guardians or those who should protect them failed in their responsibility and demeaned them for their own personal pleasures or gain.
Christ then was humiliated and beaten and disgraced by the governmental and religious leaders because what He preached was not in the best interests of the powers in control but in the best interests all people especially the poor, sick, aged and marginalized.
Does any of this sound like what is happening now? How are we responding? Are we willing to do what is necessary even though it will be difficult or against the fashionable views of even our family, friends and neighbors?
The bottom line we should be following to assure our place in eternity is the great commandment Christ gave us; “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole being and love your neighbor as you love yourself” God proclaimed His instructions to us concerning Christ’s message after Christ was transfigured on the mountain as related in the Gospel for this Sunday; “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.”. During these weeks of lent as we are called to prepare and cleanse ourselves of our negative actions that are not in the best interests of all God’s children and try to live our daily life more in keeping with the teachings of Christ let us examine how many times we have responded to God’s call to us with these words; HERE I AM LORD !
I close with this prayer; Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my mind. Give me a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity, so that I may always and in all ways and things act according to Your Holy Will. Amen.
A Reflection for the Second Sunday of Lent 2009
Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18, Psalm 115:10,15-19,Romans 8:31-34, Mark 9:2-10
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
A Ministry of the Refpormed Catholic Church International of N. E.
www.missionstsergius.org
“God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he called. ‘Here I am’ he replied.” so begins the first reading for the Second Sunday of Lent. The reading tells the story of God testing Abraham’s faith and loyalty by asking him to sacrifice his only child. When Abraham is about to offer his son Isaac and angel of the Lord stopped him with these words; “But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he said. ‘I am here’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son”
Exactly what should we learn from this reading? We should learn that God sometimes tests us by asking us to accept things or to do something that we normally would never think of doing. God asks us to bear burdens that are unpleasant or difficult in order to test us in our love and faith of God. Another important lesson we can learn is that if we accept these trials and burdens God will reward us just as he did Abraham with these words; “because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.”
The second reading for this Sunday strengthens and confirms what I believe we can gain from the readings with the following words; “With God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.”
“With God on our side who can be against us?” What comforting words and ones we need to hold securely in our hearts. If we seek God and love God and accept the burdens he gives us without complaint God will be there to sustain us and to lift us up. We need to remember that God will never ask us to carry a burden that we are unable to carry or that He will not remove when it begins to bee more than we can carry. The secret is that we need to place our trust in God and accept the challenge or burden as Abraham did. Christ was the ultimate sacrifice which was offered to God on our behalf. Christ suffered like no one else has ever sacrificed first by being rejected just as many who love God are rejected because they are divorced or their sexual orientation. Christ was then abused just as many children and others who may have physical or mental shortcomings or whose guardians or those who should protect them failed in their responsibility and demeaned them for their own personal pleasures or gain.
Christ then was humiliated and beaten and disgraced by the governmental and religious leaders because what He preached was not in the best interests of the powers in control but in the best interests all people especially the poor, sick, aged and marginalized.
Does any of this sound like what is happening now? How are we responding? Are we willing to do what is necessary even though it will be difficult or against the fashionable views of even our family, friends and neighbors?
The bottom line we should be following to assure our place in eternity is the great commandment Christ gave us; “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole being and love your neighbor as you love yourself” God proclaimed His instructions to us concerning Christ’s message after Christ was transfigured on the mountain as related in the Gospel for this Sunday; “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.”. During these weeks of lent as we are called to prepare and cleanse ourselves of our negative actions that are not in the best interests of all God’s children and try to live our daily life more in keeping with the teachings of Christ let us examine how many times we have responded to God’s call to us with these words; HERE I AM LORD !
I close with this prayer; Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my mind. Give me a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity, so that I may always and in all ways and things act according to Your Holy Will. Amen.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Rainbow is God's Promise To Us
God’s Promise in the Rainbow
A Reflection for the First Sunday of Lent 2009
Based on the readings from: Genesis 9:8-16, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:12-15
The first reading for the first Sunday in Lent is from the book of Genesis and tells of God’s promise to Noah and his sons after the great flood. It begins with these words; “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Since we trust in God we can know that the end of the world will not be from floods. It is the next portions of the reading I find more significant for those who have chosen a rainbow for their symbol. The Rainbow Nation because it symbolized the diversity of ethnic groups that make up the world. The GLBT community because it symbolizes the diversity of God’s children in regards to sexual orientation. I believe that we should be encouraged by God‘s promise . “ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between you and I and all living creatures of every kind. …. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."(Genesis 9:8-15)
Whenever we see the rainbow symbol we need to remember that God created every living thing on the face of the earth and has made a covenant with all living things. Since God creates people with their sexual orientation we should never discriminate against them for it but recall that God must have had his reasons for creating people this way and therefore we should never be so bold as to question God’s purpose for then we give ourselves over to the will of Satan because that is exactly how he was cast out of God’s presence. Satan felt he could challenge God and be as great as God. Ever since he was tossed out of Heaven he has attempted to tempt every human creature God has created from Adam and Eve to even Jesus Christ.
The Gospel reading from Mark 1:12-15 tell how Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert for the forty days Christ spent there in preparation for his public ministry. It is used to remind us that Satan will not discriminate against any one even the Son of God. In fact, the closer one try to be to God the more and greater the temptations Satan will use to turn us away. I mean, if Satan thought he might have a chance to convince Christ to abandon his ministry what makes us think he would ever leave us alone.
The Gospel story ends with these words; “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
“THE GOOD NEWS” exactly what was the good news? It was that Almighty God is a merciful, forgiving, and infinitely loving God and we can achieve the promise of eternal life by living as Christ taught us with these words; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' (Luke 10:27) The reading from 2 Peter 3:18-22 reminds us of What Christ’s mission was “Christ died for sins once and for all, for the righteous and for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. God wants us to come to Him," God loves ALL His children. “Christ was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the Ark only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes the water of baptism that now saves you now. You were saved in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”
Lent is the time when we are called to take stock of our selves in regards to our relationship with God and how well we are following the teachings Christ gave us on how to live. Every time we see a rainbow we should recal that we are called by God to live our lives in a manner that hurts no one and exudes our love of God to all we encounter. We need to recognize and applaud God’s diversity and know His love has no boundaries and is given freely to all who seek it with purity of heart.
God will never break His promise neither should we break our promise made in the waters of our Baptism. At the end of every storm there is a rainbow to remind us of God’s love for us. AMEN
A Reflection for the First Sunday of Lent 2009
Based on the readings from: Genesis 9:8-16, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:12-15
The first reading for the first Sunday in Lent is from the book of Genesis and tells of God’s promise to Noah and his sons after the great flood. It begins with these words; “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Since we trust in God we can know that the end of the world will not be from floods. It is the next portions of the reading I find more significant for those who have chosen a rainbow for their symbol. The Rainbow Nation because it symbolized the diversity of ethnic groups that make up the world. The GLBT community because it symbolizes the diversity of God’s children in regards to sexual orientation. I believe that we should be encouraged by God‘s promise . “ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between you and I and all living creatures of every kind. …. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."(Genesis 9:8-15)
Whenever we see the rainbow symbol we need to remember that God created every living thing on the face of the earth and has made a covenant with all living things. Since God creates people with their sexual orientation we should never discriminate against them for it but recall that God must have had his reasons for creating people this way and therefore we should never be so bold as to question God’s purpose for then we give ourselves over to the will of Satan because that is exactly how he was cast out of God’s presence. Satan felt he could challenge God and be as great as God. Ever since he was tossed out of Heaven he has attempted to tempt every human creature God has created from Adam and Eve to even Jesus Christ.
The Gospel reading from Mark 1:12-15 tell how Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert for the forty days Christ spent there in preparation for his public ministry. It is used to remind us that Satan will not discriminate against any one even the Son of God. In fact, the closer one try to be to God the more and greater the temptations Satan will use to turn us away. I mean, if Satan thought he might have a chance to convince Christ to abandon his ministry what makes us think he would ever leave us alone.
The Gospel story ends with these words; “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
“THE GOOD NEWS” exactly what was the good news? It was that Almighty God is a merciful, forgiving, and infinitely loving God and we can achieve the promise of eternal life by living as Christ taught us with these words; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' (Luke 10:27) The reading from 2 Peter 3:18-22 reminds us of What Christ’s mission was “Christ died for sins once and for all, for the righteous and for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. God wants us to come to Him," God loves ALL His children. “Christ was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the Ark only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes the water of baptism that now saves you now. You were saved in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”
Lent is the time when we are called to take stock of our selves in regards to our relationship with God and how well we are following the teachings Christ gave us on how to live. Every time we see a rainbow we should recal that we are called by God to live our lives in a manner that hurts no one and exudes our love of God to all we encounter. We need to recognize and applaud God’s diversity and know His love has no boundaries and is given freely to all who seek it with purity of heart.
God will never break His promise neither should we break our promise made in the waters of our Baptism. At the end of every storm there is a rainbow to remind us of God’s love for us. AMEN
Friday, February 20, 2009
God's Infinite Love Will Conquer All
Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time Reflection 2009
God’s Love will Conquer Sin
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD of Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus
Franciscans of Divine Mercy of Reformed Catholic Church International N.E.
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
"Forget the things that happened in the past. Do not keep on thinking about them. I am about to do something new…. I am going to make a way for you to go through the desert. (Our daily struggle here on earth) I will make streams of water in the dry and empty land. … I provide water in the desert (the waters of Baptism and the water that is mingles with the wine in the Eucharist) for my people to drink. I do it for the people I made for myself. I want them to sing praise to me. (God wants us to be joyful and to rejoice and be glad for all that God does for us) …you have not prayed to me as you should or even begun to get tired while doing it. You have not brought offerings. You have not honored me with your sacrifices…I am not requiring you to burn incense….Instead, you have loaded me down with your sins. You have made me tired with the wrong things you have done. "I am the one who wipes out your lawless acts. I do it because of who I am. I will not remember your sins anymore. (Isaiah 43:18-25b)
With these words the lesson for this last Sunday before Lent, which begins on Wednesday, we are led onto that wondrous new path that Christ opened in the desert of life with his wiliness to become the perfect sacrifice to God for the forgiveness of our human frailty and sinfulness. God not only forgives us but, as we learned in Isaiah, Forgets forever.
The Psalm for this Sunday is another reminder of how God lifts us up, protects, and saves us. “God lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand…. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. (This is what we are called to do.) Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.”
Today’s false gods are Power, Fortune, Fame, Personal gratification at the expense of others. The servants of the false gods, Discrimination, War, Genocide, Perversion, Hatred, Greed, Dishonesty and Lust always accompany the false gods.
Psalm 40:2-14reminds us of all that God does for us with these words; “Many are the wonders you have done for us. The things you planned for us are without number; were I to speak of them, they would be too many to declare. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, … and sin offerings you did not require.”
God would love to hear these following words of Paul’s from 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 emanating from our lips; “Here I am, I have come—I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. I do not conceal your love and your truth from your people. Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me….my sins are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me."
Paul gives us the reasons why also; “It is ‘through Christ’ that we answer “Amen” to the praise of God. Remember it is God himself who assures us all of our standing in Christ, and has anointed us, marking us with his seal and giving us the pledge, the Spirit, that we carry in our hearts.”
To quote the final words from the Gospel reading of the events surrounding Christ healing the paralytic; “ they were all astounded and praised God saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this." (Mark 2:1-12). We also will never see anything like what is possible when we have complete trust in God. We need to be mindful that God’s love for us is stronger than any adversity and God will never give us an adversity we cannot overcome if we believe and turn to God. God will do, not just what we desire, but, what is better for us than anything we could ever ask for. God knows we are prone to be sinners since His perfect creation Adam and Eve disobeyed him after giving in to the temptations of Satan. Their punishment is our imperfection and we need to make it our life’s goal to attempt to live our lives with LOVE, Complete LOVE of God, ourselves as God created our neighbors and us. As Lent begins on Wednesday, let’s try to spend the Lenten season taking stock of how we need to improve our relationship with God. Let’s offer God our thanks and praise by making the changes we need to make in order to become better followers Almighty God. Let others be able to identify us as God’s children by our actions as we live our daily lives and not by what words our lips may say. Let our actions speak louder than our words and be examples of Compassion, forgiveness and love like that God has for us. AMEN
God’s Love will Conquer Sin
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD of Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus
Franciscans of Divine Mercy of Reformed Catholic Church International N.E.
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
"Forget the things that happened in the past. Do not keep on thinking about them. I am about to do something new…. I am going to make a way for you to go through the desert. (Our daily struggle here on earth) I will make streams of water in the dry and empty land. … I provide water in the desert (the waters of Baptism and the water that is mingles with the wine in the Eucharist) for my people to drink. I do it for the people I made for myself. I want them to sing praise to me. (God wants us to be joyful and to rejoice and be glad for all that God does for us) …you have not prayed to me as you should or even begun to get tired while doing it. You have not brought offerings. You have not honored me with your sacrifices…I am not requiring you to burn incense….Instead, you have loaded me down with your sins. You have made me tired with the wrong things you have done. "I am the one who wipes out your lawless acts. I do it because of who I am. I will not remember your sins anymore. (Isaiah 43:18-25b)
With these words the lesson for this last Sunday before Lent, which begins on Wednesday, we are led onto that wondrous new path that Christ opened in the desert of life with his wiliness to become the perfect sacrifice to God for the forgiveness of our human frailty and sinfulness. God not only forgives us but, as we learned in Isaiah, Forgets forever.
The Psalm for this Sunday is another reminder of how God lifts us up, protects, and saves us. “God lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand…. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. (This is what we are called to do.) Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.”
Today’s false gods are Power, Fortune, Fame, Personal gratification at the expense of others. The servants of the false gods, Discrimination, War, Genocide, Perversion, Hatred, Greed, Dishonesty and Lust always accompany the false gods.
Psalm 40:2-14reminds us of all that God does for us with these words; “Many are the wonders you have done for us. The things you planned for us are without number; were I to speak of them, they would be too many to declare. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, … and sin offerings you did not require.”
God would love to hear these following words of Paul’s from 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 emanating from our lips; “Here I am, I have come—I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. I do not conceal your love and your truth from your people. Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me….my sins are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me."
Paul gives us the reasons why also; “It is ‘through Christ’ that we answer “Amen” to the praise of God. Remember it is God himself who assures us all of our standing in Christ, and has anointed us, marking us with his seal and giving us the pledge, the Spirit, that we carry in our hearts.”
To quote the final words from the Gospel reading of the events surrounding Christ healing the paralytic; “ they were all astounded and praised God saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this." (Mark 2:1-12). We also will never see anything like what is possible when we have complete trust in God. We need to be mindful that God’s love for us is stronger than any adversity and God will never give us an adversity we cannot overcome if we believe and turn to God. God will do, not just what we desire, but, what is better for us than anything we could ever ask for. God knows we are prone to be sinners since His perfect creation Adam and Eve disobeyed him after giving in to the temptations of Satan. Their punishment is our imperfection and we need to make it our life’s goal to attempt to live our lives with LOVE, Complete LOVE of God, ourselves as God created our neighbors and us. As Lent begins on Wednesday, let’s try to spend the Lenten season taking stock of how we need to improve our relationship with God. Let’s offer God our thanks and praise by making the changes we need to make in order to become better followers Almighty God. Let others be able to identify us as God’s children by our actions as we live our daily lives and not by what words our lips may say. Let our actions speak louder than our words and be examples of Compassion, forgiveness and love like that God has for us. AMEN
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Baptism of Christ Reflection
Baptism of Christ Reflection
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Merry
www.missionstsergius.org
The readings for the feast celebrating the Baptism of Christ are such wonderful reminders of the truth of God’s teachings and His everlasting Love and mercy for ALL God’s children. In Acts 10: 34-38 we read the following; “Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘The truth I have now come to realize’ he said ‘is that God does not have favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
This reading is an affirmation that God never discriminates or rejects anyone who loves Him and comes to Him seeking forgiveness, comfort and peace. As followers of Jesus Christ and professed children of God we should never refuse any one the opportunity to partake of the sacraments of to pray to God or participate in liturgical services for any reason. Christ never turned anyone away who came to him in faith.
In the Gospel of Mark 1: 7-11 we read these words concerning exactly who Christ was; “No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.”
Since Christ is the chosen son of God and He came to bring God’s truth to us and to save us we need to look to His teachings as the way we should be living our lives. The Beatitudes direct us in the way to live by instructing us to be generous, caring, compassionate, forgiving and instruct us to care for the sick, aged, and poor. We need to treat all people with justice and equality not just some chosen few who fit our idea of acceptable because they conform to our social, economic, racial or sexual orientation.
In First John 5: 1-9 we read the following words of truth; “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten by God; and whoever loves the Father that begot him loves the child whom he begets.We can be sure that we love God’s children if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us; this is what loving God is – keeping his commandments; and his commandments are not difficult, because anyone who has been begotten by God has already overcome the world; this is the victory over the world –our faith.”
The greatest commandments according Christ are the following; “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." (John 13:34) and “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ Christ said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with your entire mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Nothing could be clearer, plainer or easier for us to understand yet we seem to want to add a lot of strings making it very difficult for people to express their love of God. We set all kinds or barriers and restriction up that often cause people to feel that God does not want them. Love is simple and easy to accomplish if we only allow ourselves to be open to it.
As Paul Says in First Corinthians twelve; “If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends”.
God is LOVE as First John four verse sixteen says; “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” Christ is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the Old Testament that proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. In Isaiah 42:6-7 it is foretold; “Faithfully he brings true justice; he will neither waver, nor be crushed until true justice is established on earth, for the islands are awaiting his law. I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right; I have taken you by the hand and formed you; I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.”
Christ fulfilled all of these prophecies, He healed the sick and the lame, restored the dead to life, opened the eyes of the blind and freed all of us from the captivity of the prison of sin through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead which gave us the forgiveness of sin.As followers of Christ we need more than ever to diligently begin to LOVE one another as Christ and God loves us and reach out to others with expressions of friendship and peace instead of rejection and discrimination. We need to extend our hands in friendship instead of missals of destruction. We need to be charitable to those in needs and compassionate to those in pain. We need to be patient, kind, and put aside our petty jealousies, arrogance and greed and become a living expression of God, LOVE. AMEN
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Merry
www.missionstsergius.org
The readings for the feast celebrating the Baptism of Christ are such wonderful reminders of the truth of God’s teachings and His everlasting Love and mercy for ALL God’s children. In Acts 10: 34-38 we read the following; “Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘The truth I have now come to realize’ he said ‘is that God does not have favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
This reading is an affirmation that God never discriminates or rejects anyone who loves Him and comes to Him seeking forgiveness, comfort and peace. As followers of Jesus Christ and professed children of God we should never refuse any one the opportunity to partake of the sacraments of to pray to God or participate in liturgical services for any reason. Christ never turned anyone away who came to him in faith.
In the Gospel of Mark 1: 7-11 we read these words concerning exactly who Christ was; “No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.”
Since Christ is the chosen son of God and He came to bring God’s truth to us and to save us we need to look to His teachings as the way we should be living our lives. The Beatitudes direct us in the way to live by instructing us to be generous, caring, compassionate, forgiving and instruct us to care for the sick, aged, and poor. We need to treat all people with justice and equality not just some chosen few who fit our idea of acceptable because they conform to our social, economic, racial or sexual orientation.
In First John 5: 1-9 we read the following words of truth; “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten by God; and whoever loves the Father that begot him loves the child whom he begets.We can be sure that we love God’s children if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us; this is what loving God is – keeping his commandments; and his commandments are not difficult, because anyone who has been begotten by God has already overcome the world; this is the victory over the world –our faith.”
The greatest commandments according Christ are the following; “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." (John 13:34) and “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ Christ said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with your entire mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Nothing could be clearer, plainer or easier for us to understand yet we seem to want to add a lot of strings making it very difficult for people to express their love of God. We set all kinds or barriers and restriction up that often cause people to feel that God does not want them. Love is simple and easy to accomplish if we only allow ourselves to be open to it.
As Paul Says in First Corinthians twelve; “If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends”.
God is LOVE as First John four verse sixteen says; “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” Christ is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the Old Testament that proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. In Isaiah 42:6-7 it is foretold; “Faithfully he brings true justice; he will neither waver, nor be crushed until true justice is established on earth, for the islands are awaiting his law. I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right; I have taken you by the hand and formed you; I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.”
Christ fulfilled all of these prophecies, He healed the sick and the lame, restored the dead to life, opened the eyes of the blind and freed all of us from the captivity of the prison of sin through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead which gave us the forgiveness of sin.As followers of Christ we need more than ever to diligently begin to LOVE one another as Christ and God loves us and reach out to others with expressions of friendship and peace instead of rejection and discrimination. We need to extend our hands in friendship instead of missals of destruction. We need to be charitable to those in needs and compassionate to those in pain. We need to be patient, kind, and put aside our petty jealousies, arrogance and greed and become a living expression of God, LOVE. AMEN
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
A New Year Prayer
A New Years Prayer
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
Almighty and merciful God we come to you this first day of the New Year in thanksgiving for the gifts you have bestowed upon us and with petitions for the coming year.
We pray, O God, that you will inspire world leaders to end the wars, violence, and genocide that have overtaken so much of this world.
We pray that those whom you have blessed with abundance will have compassion and generosity for those who are suffering from poverty, homelessness, and inadequate affordable health care.
We pray that people will stop judging others by the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, marital status or nationality and recognize that we are all brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and children of God.
We pray that all leaders of all Christian denominations will evaluate the differences that have separated your One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church established by the chosen apostles of your beloved son and return to the fundamental truths taught by Christ.
We pray that all the children of Abraham will unite together in peace and stop the bloodshed that envelops the Middle East.
We pray for the newly elected president of the United States and his chosen cabinet will be able to turn the economy around while seeing to the needs of the poor, elderly, sick, homeless and unemployed and insure equality and justice for all the citizens of this country.
We pray that science will find cures for all cancers, ALS, Macro degeneration, Alzheimer’s, and the other diseases that deprive so many of the simple joys of life.
We pray that we will be able to be faithful to you in our service to those you bring to us and fill them with the knowledge of your infinite mercy and love and give them the hope of Everlasting life through trust and faith in you.
Lord as 2008 comes to an end and 2009 begins, we promise to strive to serve you through living our lives consistent with how your beloved son lived His life and through prayer and daily devotion to you and all your children.
May you accept our humble attempts and continue to inspire us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We ask this in the name of your beloved son, our redeemer and savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. AMEN
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
Almighty and merciful God we come to you this first day of the New Year in thanksgiving for the gifts you have bestowed upon us and with petitions for the coming year.
We pray, O God, that you will inspire world leaders to end the wars, violence, and genocide that have overtaken so much of this world.
We pray that those whom you have blessed with abundance will have compassion and generosity for those who are suffering from poverty, homelessness, and inadequate affordable health care.
We pray that people will stop judging others by the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, marital status or nationality and recognize that we are all brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and children of God.
We pray that all leaders of all Christian denominations will evaluate the differences that have separated your One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church established by the chosen apostles of your beloved son and return to the fundamental truths taught by Christ.
We pray that all the children of Abraham will unite together in peace and stop the bloodshed that envelops the Middle East.
We pray for the newly elected president of the United States and his chosen cabinet will be able to turn the economy around while seeing to the needs of the poor, elderly, sick, homeless and unemployed and insure equality and justice for all the citizens of this country.
We pray that science will find cures for all cancers, ALS, Macro degeneration, Alzheimer’s, and the other diseases that deprive so many of the simple joys of life.
We pray that we will be able to be faithful to you in our service to those you bring to us and fill them with the knowledge of your infinite mercy and love and give them the hope of Everlasting life through trust and faith in you.
Lord as 2008 comes to an end and 2009 begins, we promise to strive to serve you through living our lives consistent with how your beloved son lived His life and through prayer and daily devotion to you and all your children.
May you accept our humble attempts and continue to inspire us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We ask this in the name of your beloved son, our redeemer and savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. AMEN
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
A Christmas Message
A Christmas 2008 Reflection
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.Missionstsergius.org
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favor.” (Luke 2:14) “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to all people on earth with whom He is Pleased. Today is born unto us a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”. (John 2:14, 11) “ His name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6)
What a glorious gift was given to us when Christ was born in a simple stable. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords was not born in a palatial palace. He was not born in the warmth comfort of a home or inn. No, he was born in a humble stable surrounded not by nurses and doctors and relatives but only His parents,Mary and Joseph and the animals of the barn. Jesus first visitors were simple shepherds, not the elite of the world. This birth was a message to us that we should live simply. Riches, fame, and fortune are not what matters , but compassion for the marginalized of the world, love of family and friends, sharing the gifts God has given us with others and trust and faith in God are what matters.
Christ is referred to as “The Light of the World” this means He was sent to illuminate the way for us, like a brilliant beacon that guides ships away from dangerous shoals and reefs toward a safe harbor. Christ was born to teach us how to dispel the darkness of fear, doubt, hatred and anger and to find comfort in times of distress.
“God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and savior Christ Jesus. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good “(Titus 2:11-14)
The miraculous birth that we celebrate at Christmas brought to earth God made flesh. God gave us a human image to equate to; a human being that had to endure all the human feelings, emotions, problems and joys that each of us experience on our journey of life.
Christ endured the pain of a loss of a parent and friends, He experienced the joy of a wedding of a friend. He became angry at the greed and callousness of the priests and temple employees.
Christ also told us how to live a life that would insure everlasting peace. His message was one of Love, forgiveness, compassion and generosity.
On this day that we celebrate God’s gift to us of His only son and the new promise of salvation to all his children, let us present an offering to Him that reflects the way of life He advised us to lead.
Let us begin to be more compassionate to those who are suffering from hunger, illnesses such as AIDS and cancer, poverty, substandard housing and discrimination. Let us work diligently to eliminate these ills from the world and bring about a world where every one of God’s children is treated with equality in all matters and given the same rights and privileges as every other person.
On this day that we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace let us make a concerted effort to bring peace into the world beginning with our own families, friends and neighbors with whom we might be have a disagreement. If all of us begin in this small way, we can make a huge difference. As Neil Armstrong said upon landing on the moon, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Let us take our small step in the direction of bringing peace into our own lives which just prod others to do the same and eventually a “Virus of Peace” could envelope the whole world.
I end my Christmas message with these words of Jesus Christ and pray that the Peace of Christ will invade your hearts today and all the days of your life. God bless you and have a blessed Christmas Holiday. "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27) Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.Missionstsergius.org
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favor.” (Luke 2:14) “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to all people on earth with whom He is Pleased. Today is born unto us a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”. (John 2:14, 11) “ His name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6)
What a glorious gift was given to us when Christ was born in a simple stable. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords was not born in a palatial palace. He was not born in the warmth comfort of a home or inn. No, he was born in a humble stable surrounded not by nurses and doctors and relatives but only His parents,Mary and Joseph and the animals of the barn. Jesus first visitors were simple shepherds, not the elite of the world. This birth was a message to us that we should live simply. Riches, fame, and fortune are not what matters , but compassion for the marginalized of the world, love of family and friends, sharing the gifts God has given us with others and trust and faith in God are what matters.
Christ is referred to as “The Light of the World” this means He was sent to illuminate the way for us, like a brilliant beacon that guides ships away from dangerous shoals and reefs toward a safe harbor. Christ was born to teach us how to dispel the darkness of fear, doubt, hatred and anger and to find comfort in times of distress.
“God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and savior Christ Jesus. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good “(Titus 2:11-14)
The miraculous birth that we celebrate at Christmas brought to earth God made flesh. God gave us a human image to equate to; a human being that had to endure all the human feelings, emotions, problems and joys that each of us experience on our journey of life.
Christ endured the pain of a loss of a parent and friends, He experienced the joy of a wedding of a friend. He became angry at the greed and callousness of the priests and temple employees.
Christ also told us how to live a life that would insure everlasting peace. His message was one of Love, forgiveness, compassion and generosity.
On this day that we celebrate God’s gift to us of His only son and the new promise of salvation to all his children, let us present an offering to Him that reflects the way of life He advised us to lead.
Let us begin to be more compassionate to those who are suffering from hunger, illnesses such as AIDS and cancer, poverty, substandard housing and discrimination. Let us work diligently to eliminate these ills from the world and bring about a world where every one of God’s children is treated with equality in all matters and given the same rights and privileges as every other person.
On this day that we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace let us make a concerted effort to bring peace into the world beginning with our own families, friends and neighbors with whom we might be have a disagreement. If all of us begin in this small way, we can make a huge difference. As Neil Armstrong said upon landing on the moon, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Let us take our small step in the direction of bringing peace into our own lives which just prod others to do the same and eventually a “Virus of Peace” could envelope the whole world.
I end my Christmas message with these words of Jesus Christ and pray that the Peace of Christ will invade your hearts today and all the days of your life. God bless you and have a blessed Christmas Holiday. "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27) Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD
Friday, September 12, 2008
God's Infinite Love is For ALL
God’s Infinite Love for ALL
A Reflection for the Exaltation of the Cross Feast Sunday September 14th
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
“God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.” (John 3:13-17)
The gospel for this Sunday is a clear reminder to us of exactly how much Almighty God loves ALL His children. His love is so great that He was willing to send his beloved son, Jesus Christ, to earth in human form and subject to all the difficulties and pressures of being human even to the ultimate indignity of being persecuted, tortured and crucified just so Christ, by that action, could open the gates of heaven to ALL who desired to seek it.
Because it was by the cross that Christ redeemed the world. That is why the church commemorates this redeeming action of Jesus on this Sunday.
As adults, we sometimes feel abandoned and afraid and feel like we are being treated unfairly or blamed for things unfairly. We have a hard time when people criticize us for following our inner feelings even when we have discerned what we are feeling to determine if it is in accord with God’s will.
As adults the same feelings of insecurity that we felt as children raise their ugly head and we feel that everything we do is not appreciated. There are also those times when we believe that we have taken on more responsibility or a project that we are not capable of or is not actually God’s will.
We often feel sorry for ourselves; even though the crosses others have to carry are much greater than anything we have to contend with.
Even Jesus, who was fully aware of what was in store for Him pleaded with His father “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."(Matthew 26:39)
In all these insecure feelings we must always pray to God in the same way that Jesus did by asking our heavenly Father to grant to us that which is in accord with His will and not what we think we desire.
God’s infinite love for us will NEVER give us more than we are capable of enduring and, often, God has caused those He loves greatly, like His son, to endure greater suffering because God knows that our faith in Him is strong and we will be like Job, keeping our faith in spite of our difficulties.
In today’s world so many individuals and religious organizations reject and discriminate against others because they are not exactly like them. God did not create only one species or one kind of person. God created great diversity and because of His creation we have much to be thankful for because if all people, animals and countries were the same boredom would certainly have overtaken this world many millennium ago.
Christ was sent to us as an act of God’s love to make known the way to salvation.
One of the basic teachings of Christ is compassion for the downtrodden, poor and marginalized.
To me that indicates that those who have been given wealth, fame and power have an obligation to take care of those who are in need. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked " (Luke 12:48)
Just as Christ set aside His human instincts to remain alive and not suffer the agony of the passion and death on a cross in order to attain salvation for ALL God’s children so too must we set aside our self interests make decisions that will benefit the greatest number of people especially those who are suffering because of age, poverty, war, discrimination and illness.
By doing this we can be assured that we are truly living in accord with God’s will and as Jesus tells us in John 17:26 that "God’s love for us is as great as the love God had for His son and that we are living in a Godly way and that God is with us. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (John 17:26) AMEN
A Reflection for the Exaltation of the Cross Feast Sunday September 14th
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
“God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.” (John 3:13-17)
The gospel for this Sunday is a clear reminder to us of exactly how much Almighty God loves ALL His children. His love is so great that He was willing to send his beloved son, Jesus Christ, to earth in human form and subject to all the difficulties and pressures of being human even to the ultimate indignity of being persecuted, tortured and crucified just so Christ, by that action, could open the gates of heaven to ALL who desired to seek it.
Because it was by the cross that Christ redeemed the world. That is why the church commemorates this redeeming action of Jesus on this Sunday.
As adults, we sometimes feel abandoned and afraid and feel like we are being treated unfairly or blamed for things unfairly. We have a hard time when people criticize us for following our inner feelings even when we have discerned what we are feeling to determine if it is in accord with God’s will.
As adults the same feelings of insecurity that we felt as children raise their ugly head and we feel that everything we do is not appreciated. There are also those times when we believe that we have taken on more responsibility or a project that we are not capable of or is not actually God’s will.
We often feel sorry for ourselves; even though the crosses others have to carry are much greater than anything we have to contend with.
Even Jesus, who was fully aware of what was in store for Him pleaded with His father “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."(Matthew 26:39)
In all these insecure feelings we must always pray to God in the same way that Jesus did by asking our heavenly Father to grant to us that which is in accord with His will and not what we think we desire.
God’s infinite love for us will NEVER give us more than we are capable of enduring and, often, God has caused those He loves greatly, like His son, to endure greater suffering because God knows that our faith in Him is strong and we will be like Job, keeping our faith in spite of our difficulties.
In today’s world so many individuals and religious organizations reject and discriminate against others because they are not exactly like them. God did not create only one species or one kind of person. God created great diversity and because of His creation we have much to be thankful for because if all people, animals and countries were the same boredom would certainly have overtaken this world many millennium ago.
Christ was sent to us as an act of God’s love to make known the way to salvation.
One of the basic teachings of Christ is compassion for the downtrodden, poor and marginalized.
To me that indicates that those who have been given wealth, fame and power have an obligation to take care of those who are in need. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked " (Luke 12:48)
Just as Christ set aside His human instincts to remain alive and not suffer the agony of the passion and death on a cross in order to attain salvation for ALL God’s children so too must we set aside our self interests make decisions that will benefit the greatest number of people especially those who are suffering because of age, poverty, war, discrimination and illness.
By doing this we can be assured that we are truly living in accord with God’s will and as Jesus tells us in John 17:26 that "God’s love for us is as great as the love God had for His son and that we are living in a Godly way and that God is with us. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (John 17:26) AMEN
Friday, September 05, 2008
Loving is Caring for ALL
A Reflection for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsaergius.org
“Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbor as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbor; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments”. (Romans 13:8 – 10)
There are two passages from the Readings for this Sunday that should guide us in how, we who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, should be judging people and making our choices about who we associate with, not only to those we meet and encounter each and every day of our life, but those who we elect into government positions where they will have the power and opportunity to make necessary changes that would help those who most need help.
In Romans 13:8-10 Paul exhorts us to refrain from getting into debt which most of us are unable to live by because of the exorbitant cost of everyday needs which can be directly connected to a couple of factors that our governing leaders could control.
One reason is the trillions of dollars spent in fighting a war against a country that did not attack us instead of putting our military might seeking the people responsible who did. This war has drained our economy and the social programs that could help the poor, disabled and aged to maintain a constant quality of live they experienced ten years ago, provide quality affordable health care for all our citizens from birth to death. Guaranteed affordable quality education to every child and guaranteed College education to those who desired it.
Over 4000 families who have lost sons, daughters, Mothers and Fathers waging this war and the resulting damage has been tremendous financial strain for years to come to all of them. Thos who returned physically or mentally disabled have received minimal assistance especially those suffering from PTSD from the trauma of the war and the horrors they experienced. Another causality of the deficit has been educational support to our returning veterans and affordable college educations for the poor and middle income families.
Another source of our fiscal difficulties and resulting debt every family, except those whose income is over $250,000 a year are the exorbitant profits some corporation have extracted and Golden Parachutes that some companies CEO’s have received due to higher than necessary prices charged for everyday necessities like Gas for transportation, fuel to heat homes and run factories that create the goods we need.
The failure of our Government leaders has resulted in high unemployment because of jobs going to countries that pay lower wages just so the corporations can achieve higher profits at the expense of the workers in this country. THIS IS NOT SHOWING LOVE FOR OUR FELLOW CITIZENS BECAUSE THESE THINGS HAVE HURT THE MAJORITY SEVERELY.
We also need to evaluate those who claim to be leaders of faith communities. Any faith community that turns a child of God away because of race, marital status or sexual orientation is not living the example Christ gave us. Jesus neither rejected nor turned away anyone who came to Him. He welcomed those that Jewish laws forbid Jews to mingle with. He lived by extending a welcome and showing love to ALL.
The Gospel for Sunday tells us that “, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven” yet we find ourselves constantly separating ourselves because of petty and self-serving desires that have little or nothing to do with Christ’s teachings and way of life. Just imagine if all the Christian denominations who claim to be followers of Christ were to join together with one common goal, to make this world a better place for ALL God’s children and not just the select few how much better everyone of earth would be. If Christ is with us as He tells us in the Gospel “For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.” (Matthew 18:15 – 20) there is now power or force that could overcome us. The time is NOW for us to gather together as ONE VOICE, ONE CHURCH, ONE BROTHERHOOD IN CHRIST to bring about a time of BROTHERHOOD AND TRUE LOVE that cannot hurt your neighbor. AMEN
A Reflection for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsaergius.org
“Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbor as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbor; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments”. (Romans 13:8 – 10)
There are two passages from the Readings for this Sunday that should guide us in how, we who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, should be judging people and making our choices about who we associate with, not only to those we meet and encounter each and every day of our life, but those who we elect into government positions where they will have the power and opportunity to make necessary changes that would help those who most need help.
In Romans 13:8-10 Paul exhorts us to refrain from getting into debt which most of us are unable to live by because of the exorbitant cost of everyday needs which can be directly connected to a couple of factors that our governing leaders could control.
One reason is the trillions of dollars spent in fighting a war against a country that did not attack us instead of putting our military might seeking the people responsible who did. This war has drained our economy and the social programs that could help the poor, disabled and aged to maintain a constant quality of live they experienced ten years ago, provide quality affordable health care for all our citizens from birth to death. Guaranteed affordable quality education to every child and guaranteed College education to those who desired it.
Over 4000 families who have lost sons, daughters, Mothers and Fathers waging this war and the resulting damage has been tremendous financial strain for years to come to all of them. Thos who returned physically or mentally disabled have received minimal assistance especially those suffering from PTSD from the trauma of the war and the horrors they experienced. Another causality of the deficit has been educational support to our returning veterans and affordable college educations for the poor and middle income families.
Another source of our fiscal difficulties and resulting debt every family, except those whose income is over $250,000 a year are the exorbitant profits some corporation have extracted and Golden Parachutes that some companies CEO’s have received due to higher than necessary prices charged for everyday necessities like Gas for transportation, fuel to heat homes and run factories that create the goods we need.
The failure of our Government leaders has resulted in high unemployment because of jobs going to countries that pay lower wages just so the corporations can achieve higher profits at the expense of the workers in this country. THIS IS NOT SHOWING LOVE FOR OUR FELLOW CITIZENS BECAUSE THESE THINGS HAVE HURT THE MAJORITY SEVERELY.
We also need to evaluate those who claim to be leaders of faith communities. Any faith community that turns a child of God away because of race, marital status or sexual orientation is not living the example Christ gave us. Jesus neither rejected nor turned away anyone who came to Him. He welcomed those that Jewish laws forbid Jews to mingle with. He lived by extending a welcome and showing love to ALL.
The Gospel for Sunday tells us that “, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven” yet we find ourselves constantly separating ourselves because of petty and self-serving desires that have little or nothing to do with Christ’s teachings and way of life. Just imagine if all the Christian denominations who claim to be followers of Christ were to join together with one common goal, to make this world a better place for ALL God’s children and not just the select few how much better everyone of earth would be. If Christ is with us as He tells us in the Gospel “For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.” (Matthew 18:15 – 20) there is now power or force that could overcome us. The time is NOW for us to gather together as ONE VOICE, ONE CHURCH, ONE BROTHERHOOD IN CHRIST to bring about a time of BROTHERHOOD AND TRUE LOVE that cannot hurt your neighbor. AMEN
Sunday, August 10, 2008
All Things are Possible with Faith
All Is Possible with Faith
A Reflection for Sunday, August 10, 2008
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’ Matthew 14:22 – 33
These words are taken from the Gospel for this Sunday and which tells the story of how Peter when he saw Christ walking on the water toward them in the midst of a raging storm began to walk on water but became frightened and began to sink as he called out to Christ.
This story is very important to us because it is a very strong reminder that if we give ourselves over totally to having faith and trust in Almighty God, all things are possible if what we are seeking is God’s will.
Think about the times we have attempted to do something but lost faith because what we were trying to do was extremely difficult.
Now picture in your mind being before Christ, what is He going to say to you? Will he Say; “Person of little faith, why do you doubt?” or will He tell us “have patience and persevere and you will achieve because you have faith and what you are doing is God’s will”.
I can relate because in the past few months I have asked myself if this ministry is God’s will or should I abandon it. Every time I feel this way, something happens to give me the courage and the strength to continue.
It might just be an email from someone that we have reached with our message of God’s infinite mercy and love that simply says; “Thank you, your Reflection often it is the only spiritual reflection/sermon that I find inspiring.” It might be that I receive a notice from PAYPAL that a donation of $5.00 has been received or a note that says; “I love the fact there is a Mission that is inclusive and so welcoming of the GLBT community.”
Sometimes it is a chance encounter with a person in the market or on the street that comes up to me and asks if I am a priest and could they talk with me. It is those moments I find the inspiration and the affirmation to continue to mission no matter how difficult it is for me.
Prayer and the Eucharist are also places I find strength and they are the foundation of having faith.
We are reminded in Matthew 17:20 “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
We have to keep in mind that the Mustard Seed is a tiny seed but it grown into a large tree.
Now, the question we have to ask ourselves is, “How much Faith do we really have?”
Do we have enough faith to believe that everything God created is good and it is human frailty that often turns the good to bad?
Do we have enough trust and faith in God to believe that God is a loving and merciful God as Christ taught us?
Do we have enough faith to dismiss the nay Sayers that try to tell us we are not welcome or acceptable to God because of divorce or our sexual orientation?
Do we have the faith to believe that God created all people equal and intended for them all to have equality and equal justice under the law?
When Peter believed that it was Christ walking toward them on the water he was willing to attempt to walk toward Christ but when the winds began to torment him, his faith disappeared and he started to sink.
Christ did not let him sink, but reached out a hand and hauled him to safety and into the boat.
So it will be for us, if we call out to God for help when we have doubts. God will reach out and bring us back to safe ground.
All we have to do is believe and have enough faith to place our trust and faith in God and call to Him for help.
He will answer in the way that is best for us and for our salvation. That is what I believe and I trust it is what sustained me through all my difficult times and gives me the strength to carry on even though it is not easy.
Never give up and loose your faith in God. Without God nothing is possible except chaos, suffering and pain. With God, all things are possible even those that seemingly are impossible.
Have Faith and put your trust in God and He will be there to guide you and assist you in living through all difficult times and finding the rainbow and light at the end or your storm.
God bless you and keep you safely in the palm of His hand. AMEN
A Reflection for Sunday, August 10, 2008
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’ Matthew 14:22 – 33
These words are taken from the Gospel for this Sunday and which tells the story of how Peter when he saw Christ walking on the water toward them in the midst of a raging storm began to walk on water but became frightened and began to sink as he called out to Christ.
This story is very important to us because it is a very strong reminder that if we give ourselves over totally to having faith and trust in Almighty God, all things are possible if what we are seeking is God’s will.
Think about the times we have attempted to do something but lost faith because what we were trying to do was extremely difficult.
Now picture in your mind being before Christ, what is He going to say to you? Will he Say; “Person of little faith, why do you doubt?” or will He tell us “have patience and persevere and you will achieve because you have faith and what you are doing is God’s will”.
I can relate because in the past few months I have asked myself if this ministry is God’s will or should I abandon it. Every time I feel this way, something happens to give me the courage and the strength to continue.
It might just be an email from someone that we have reached with our message of God’s infinite mercy and love that simply says; “Thank you, your Reflection often it is the only spiritual reflection/sermon that I find inspiring.” It might be that I receive a notice from PAYPAL that a donation of $5.00 has been received or a note that says; “I love the fact there is a Mission that is inclusive and so welcoming of the GLBT community.”
Sometimes it is a chance encounter with a person in the market or on the street that comes up to me and asks if I am a priest and could they talk with me. It is those moments I find the inspiration and the affirmation to continue to mission no matter how difficult it is for me.
Prayer and the Eucharist are also places I find strength and they are the foundation of having faith.
We are reminded in Matthew 17:20 “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
We have to keep in mind that the Mustard Seed is a tiny seed but it grown into a large tree.
Now, the question we have to ask ourselves is, “How much Faith do we really have?”
Do we have enough faith to believe that everything God created is good and it is human frailty that often turns the good to bad?
Do we have enough trust and faith in God to believe that God is a loving and merciful God as Christ taught us?
Do we have enough faith to dismiss the nay Sayers that try to tell us we are not welcome or acceptable to God because of divorce or our sexual orientation?
Do we have the faith to believe that God created all people equal and intended for them all to have equality and equal justice under the law?
When Peter believed that it was Christ walking toward them on the water he was willing to attempt to walk toward Christ but when the winds began to torment him, his faith disappeared and he started to sink.
Christ did not let him sink, but reached out a hand and hauled him to safety and into the boat.
So it will be for us, if we call out to God for help when we have doubts. God will reach out and bring us back to safe ground.
All we have to do is believe and have enough faith to place our trust and faith in God and call to Him for help.
He will answer in the way that is best for us and for our salvation. That is what I believe and I trust it is what sustained me through all my difficult times and gives me the strength to carry on even though it is not easy.
Never give up and loose your faith in God. Without God nothing is possible except chaos, suffering and pain. With God, all things are possible even those that seemingly are impossible.
Have Faith and put your trust in God and He will be there to guide you and assist you in living through all difficult times and finding the rainbow and light at the end or your storm.
God bless you and keep you safely in the palm of His hand. AMEN
Ordination Anniversary Reflection
Anniversary of Ordination Reflection
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.Missionstsergius.org
On the Third anniversary of my ordination as a priest, August 15th, I reflect back on my feelings on the blessed opportunity and great challenge Almighty God has bestowed upon me.
“Your are a priest forever like Melchizedek of Old”, with these words a person goes from being a simple follower of Jesus Christ to an individual whose live is now dedicated completely to the service God and His children here on earth.
As such, you have the awesome responsibility of shepherding all God’s children. You become the hands, feet, mouth, heart and human voice of Almighty God here on earth.
You duty is to give solace and comfort to those in pain and always affirm God’s infinite love, mercy and forgiveness to all His children.
You need to always be uplifting and positive toward all even when you yourself do not feel that well. These responsibilities are to be extended to every child of God that you encounter as you go about your daily life. You need to stop thinking about yourself and focus on the needs of God’s children all over the globe, especially those who feel unwanted and rejected and in need of comfort and affirmation.
In a world that appears to be increasingly more self centered and absorbed in the material things of life and less interested in the needs of others and would rather use violence to settle disputes and differences instead of common sense, it is deeply disturbing and often seems to overwhelm you.
My heart becomes heavy when I see and hear children of God being turned away from participating in a faith community and being denied God’s gift to us, in the Eucharist because they are divorced or have been created by Almighty God with a same sex orientation.
Sadness fills me when I see dedicated men and women being denied the opportunity to serve God because they are married or worse still, just because their gender is female.
I ask myself why a person who is dedicated and has the necessary education and training and believes God is calling them to serve, be refused because of their marital state or sexual orientation. As long as they are willing to live their life in a way that would not bring dishonor to Almighty God they should be welcomed.
It saddens me and has caused much pain and suffering that some called to priesthood and the hierarchy forgot their duty and responsibility to God and failed to live their vows and damaged the trust of many. Good and faithful priests have been hurt by their actions and God’s children have become disillusioned because of what was allowed to happen.
All the titles and wealth of the world cannot raise a person any higher in the eyes of God than being a good and faithful humble servant as a priest.
We need to care for God‘s people as Christ would have cared for them. At times this can become overwhelming especially when you are handicapped by a lack or resources.
So many are hurting and I want to do so much more than I am doing and wonder if I am failing God or if my efforts are being lost because of my limitations.
I find it strange that when God has chosen to communicate with us here on earth either as himself or in the person of our Blessed mother He rarely made himself known to the rich and powerful but choose the poorest of His Children loved Him deeply and who have put their complete faith and trust in Him. St. Francis was a soldier, St. Joan a simple maiden, Juan Diego a peasant Indian, Padre Pio a simple priest, St. Bernadette a simple school girl. None of these were the hierarchy of the church. When they proclaimed what God directed them to do, they were ridiculed, scorned, persecuted and in some cases put to death. One has to wonder why God did not go directly to the hierarchy. Could it be that with their lofty titles and grandiose life styles had lost sight of God’s original intent? Could it be that they chose to use their positions of power to decipher the word of God to suite their own self interests?
I have pondered this often and I believe that this may well be the case.
To have been called by God to be a priest is a tremendous and overwhelming responsibility which I pray daily I am able to live up to. I am sure that God has called me for a special mission at this late stage of my life. I find His choice of me to be surprising and heady, filled with many roadblocks but I willing to accept His call knowing that if it is His will, He would give me the necessary things to do the task.
These past three years have been most humbling. Some of my family and friends and neighbors have rejected me because I do not agree with the rules instituted by the men who rule but in actuality have nothing to do with Christ’s teachings and the early church.
There have also been times that were spiritually uplifting and humbling you receive notes like these; “Thank you for being there in my time of crisis”, “I think the Mission is doing a great job. I wish there were something similar to it here where I live. To me the Catholic Church talks with a forked tongue as the Native Americans say”, “I read your messages and obtain a special insight into the Mass that I attend personally”, “You have more energy and compassion than even I! You give and ask nothing in return. You are indeed a follower of Jesus and Francis.” “Because of your reflections and affirming statement I have gone back to church after many years away”
I am constantly asking Almighty God to inspire me and guide me so that I may only bring honor and Glory to Him. I pray constantly that I can make a difference in the lives of those who come to me and bring them into a closer relationship with Almighty God. That is my only desire and prayer.
I recently said that we have to give ourselves over completely to God, subverting our own personal desires and putting lives in God’s hands. I believe that this is the only way that we can fully serve God. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane cried out "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Jesus gave himself over totally to God’s will teaching us to accept all God calls us to do even when it is not what you would rather do.
When I was called to be a priest, after so many years of feeling the call, and believing in my heart I was being called and being denied so many times because I had been married, too old or feeling unworthy of the call, I began to think it was not God’s will.
When, at age 71, I received the acceptance into the Franciscans and not just as a deacon which I had been ordained as in 1980, but as a priest. I accepted the call with the full knowledge that my life, as I had lived it and known, was over and I was to begin a new life, whose only purpose was to serve God with complete and total being.
I ask God to constantly lead me to where He wants me to go.
I trust He will provide me the strength, health, wisdom, means and courage to accept all that I need to do.
During this week of my Anniversary I implore each of you to pray for me and the ministry asking God to provide me with the tools necessary to reach out to all those whom this ministry is intended to reach and guide me by the gifts of The Holy Spirit to always know His will and to accept and do His will for as long as He chooses to allow me to be His humble and simple servant. AMEN
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.Missionstsergius.org
On the Third anniversary of my ordination as a priest, August 15th, I reflect back on my feelings on the blessed opportunity and great challenge Almighty God has bestowed upon me.
“Your are a priest forever like Melchizedek of Old”, with these words a person goes from being a simple follower of Jesus Christ to an individual whose live is now dedicated completely to the service God and His children here on earth.
As such, you have the awesome responsibility of shepherding all God’s children. You become the hands, feet, mouth, heart and human voice of Almighty God here on earth.
You duty is to give solace and comfort to those in pain and always affirm God’s infinite love, mercy and forgiveness to all His children.
You need to always be uplifting and positive toward all even when you yourself do not feel that well. These responsibilities are to be extended to every child of God that you encounter as you go about your daily life. You need to stop thinking about yourself and focus on the needs of God’s children all over the globe, especially those who feel unwanted and rejected and in need of comfort and affirmation.
In a world that appears to be increasingly more self centered and absorbed in the material things of life and less interested in the needs of others and would rather use violence to settle disputes and differences instead of common sense, it is deeply disturbing and often seems to overwhelm you.
My heart becomes heavy when I see and hear children of God being turned away from participating in a faith community and being denied God’s gift to us, in the Eucharist because they are divorced or have been created by Almighty God with a same sex orientation.
Sadness fills me when I see dedicated men and women being denied the opportunity to serve God because they are married or worse still, just because their gender is female.
I ask myself why a person who is dedicated and has the necessary education and training and believes God is calling them to serve, be refused because of their marital state or sexual orientation. As long as they are willing to live their life in a way that would not bring dishonor to Almighty God they should be welcomed.
It saddens me and has caused much pain and suffering that some called to priesthood and the hierarchy forgot their duty and responsibility to God and failed to live their vows and damaged the trust of many. Good and faithful priests have been hurt by their actions and God’s children have become disillusioned because of what was allowed to happen.
All the titles and wealth of the world cannot raise a person any higher in the eyes of God than being a good and faithful humble servant as a priest.
We need to care for God‘s people as Christ would have cared for them. At times this can become overwhelming especially when you are handicapped by a lack or resources.
So many are hurting and I want to do so much more than I am doing and wonder if I am failing God or if my efforts are being lost because of my limitations.
I find it strange that when God has chosen to communicate with us here on earth either as himself or in the person of our Blessed mother He rarely made himself known to the rich and powerful but choose the poorest of His Children loved Him deeply and who have put their complete faith and trust in Him. St. Francis was a soldier, St. Joan a simple maiden, Juan Diego a peasant Indian, Padre Pio a simple priest, St. Bernadette a simple school girl. None of these were the hierarchy of the church. When they proclaimed what God directed them to do, they were ridiculed, scorned, persecuted and in some cases put to death. One has to wonder why God did not go directly to the hierarchy. Could it be that with their lofty titles and grandiose life styles had lost sight of God’s original intent? Could it be that they chose to use their positions of power to decipher the word of God to suite their own self interests?
I have pondered this often and I believe that this may well be the case.
To have been called by God to be a priest is a tremendous and overwhelming responsibility which I pray daily I am able to live up to. I am sure that God has called me for a special mission at this late stage of my life. I find His choice of me to be surprising and heady, filled with many roadblocks but I willing to accept His call knowing that if it is His will, He would give me the necessary things to do the task.
These past three years have been most humbling. Some of my family and friends and neighbors have rejected me because I do not agree with the rules instituted by the men who rule but in actuality have nothing to do with Christ’s teachings and the early church.
There have also been times that were spiritually uplifting and humbling you receive notes like these; “Thank you for being there in my time of crisis”, “I think the Mission is doing a great job. I wish there were something similar to it here where I live. To me the Catholic Church talks with a forked tongue as the Native Americans say”, “I read your messages and obtain a special insight into the Mass that I attend personally”, “You have more energy and compassion than even I! You give and ask nothing in return. You are indeed a follower of Jesus and Francis.” “Because of your reflections and affirming statement I have gone back to church after many years away”
I am constantly asking Almighty God to inspire me and guide me so that I may only bring honor and Glory to Him. I pray constantly that I can make a difference in the lives of those who come to me and bring them into a closer relationship with Almighty God. That is my only desire and prayer.
I recently said that we have to give ourselves over completely to God, subverting our own personal desires and putting lives in God’s hands. I believe that this is the only way that we can fully serve God. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane cried out "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Jesus gave himself over totally to God’s will teaching us to accept all God calls us to do even when it is not what you would rather do.
When I was called to be a priest, after so many years of feeling the call, and believing in my heart I was being called and being denied so many times because I had been married, too old or feeling unworthy of the call, I began to think it was not God’s will.
When, at age 71, I received the acceptance into the Franciscans and not just as a deacon which I had been ordained as in 1980, but as a priest. I accepted the call with the full knowledge that my life, as I had lived it and known, was over and I was to begin a new life, whose only purpose was to serve God with complete and total being.
I ask God to constantly lead me to where He wants me to go.
I trust He will provide me the strength, health, wisdom, means and courage to accept all that I need to do.
During this week of my Anniversary I implore each of you to pray for me and the ministry asking God to provide me with the tools necessary to reach out to all those whom this ministry is intended to reach and guide me by the gifts of The Holy Spirit to always know His will and to accept and do His will for as long as He chooses to allow me to be His humble and simple servant. AMEN
Something To Reflect Upon
Do You Reflect Christ’s Love?
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
When you look in your spiritual mirror what do you see? Is the reflection cast back at you sharp and clear or are there streaks or dirty spots on the mirror?
Can you see the infinite and everlasting mercy and love of Christ being reflected back at you?
If there are streaks or spots on your reflection ask yourself what is it in me that is causing those distortions. Possibly they are there because you are not totally accepting yourself as God’s child. They could be caused because you spend too much time thinking about yourself and your needs instead of finding out how you can reach out to help others less fortunate than you.
One thing that can cause dark shadows and streaks on your mirror reflection is the distance you put between you and Almighty God. You believe in God and turn to Him when in need of a special intention such as healing or a job, but do you take time every day to communicate with him as you would with your best friend and give thanks for all he has given you?
Sometimes, just possibly, when you look in the mirror you do not recognize the person staring back at you. You need to ask why.
There is of course those times when you can see another figure behind you who seems to be calling to you. That reflection can either be the dark, frighteening and foreboding presence of Satan who is trying to entice you to reject God and live for pleasure, fame and fortune, or it might be a beautiful luminescent image that seems to glow from within which is the reflection of God, the Holy Spirit or your gaurdian Angel whispering to you to follow the path of rightousness.
Take a good look at yourself in that mirror, do you reflect the infinite love and mercy of Jesus Christ to yourself and to all you encounter on your life journey ? Do you live your live in a way that would prompt God to praise you as “My good and faithful servant”? If so your image is crystal clear and exactly what you want to envision when you look in your spiritual mirror. What you see in that mirror is how others see you and react towards you. If you live your life always striving to be kind, generous, thoughtful, forgiving, and not discriminatory of any individual, even those with whom you disagree, you are well on the way to seeing Christ in your reflection and others will see that in you.
If, however, you discriminate because God created someone with a same sex orientation, or someone has been divorced, or worse yet, that an individual is not of the same nationality, race or religious denomination as you, then your reflection is going to be full of blotches, stains and streaks and your image in the mirror needs to be cleaned up.
Jesus Christ did not reject anyone, he called and welcomed all to himself, even those who were sinners so that he could forgive them and encourage them to “Go and Sin No More” He sat at table with all political and religious persons, rejecting no one, teaching them how to attain salvation. Christ endured suffering and even death on the cross in order to free us from the burden of sin and open the gates of heaven to all. His example should have told us that to live as He instructed would not be easy and that we might be ridiculed and rejected and even have to suffer in order to be truthful and live according to God’s will.
Christ and His Almighty Father have even given us a source of strength in the gifts bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit; Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.
The secret here is, we have to seek them out and ask God to bestow them upon you.
In closing I would like to share a prayer that I say every day.
Prayer for God’s Infinite Love
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD, March 24th 2006
Almighty and merciful God, open my mind, my heart, and my soul to your infinite love. Instill within me the knowledge of your truth. Guide me in your ways in all the things I do so that I may be unto others a reflection of your love towards them. Allow the light of your truth to flow through me, towards them, in order that they may come to know you better.
I pray that all those with whom I come in contact with, each and every day, may be brought into a closer union with you and enjoy the promise of Your salvation earned through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, in His passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
I humbly ask this in the name of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
May your spiritual reflection be crystal clear and bright and may Almighty God give you the fortitude to improve your reflection so that in it you and others see God clearly. AMEN
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
When you look in your spiritual mirror what do you see? Is the reflection cast back at you sharp and clear or are there streaks or dirty spots on the mirror?
Can you see the infinite and everlasting mercy and love of Christ being reflected back at you?
If there are streaks or spots on your reflection ask yourself what is it in me that is causing those distortions. Possibly they are there because you are not totally accepting yourself as God’s child. They could be caused because you spend too much time thinking about yourself and your needs instead of finding out how you can reach out to help others less fortunate than you.
One thing that can cause dark shadows and streaks on your mirror reflection is the distance you put between you and Almighty God. You believe in God and turn to Him when in need of a special intention such as healing or a job, but do you take time every day to communicate with him as you would with your best friend and give thanks for all he has given you?
Sometimes, just possibly, when you look in the mirror you do not recognize the person staring back at you. You need to ask why.
There is of course those times when you can see another figure behind you who seems to be calling to you. That reflection can either be the dark, frighteening and foreboding presence of Satan who is trying to entice you to reject God and live for pleasure, fame and fortune, or it might be a beautiful luminescent image that seems to glow from within which is the reflection of God, the Holy Spirit or your gaurdian Angel whispering to you to follow the path of rightousness.
Take a good look at yourself in that mirror, do you reflect the infinite love and mercy of Jesus Christ to yourself and to all you encounter on your life journey ? Do you live your live in a way that would prompt God to praise you as “My good and faithful servant”? If so your image is crystal clear and exactly what you want to envision when you look in your spiritual mirror. What you see in that mirror is how others see you and react towards you. If you live your life always striving to be kind, generous, thoughtful, forgiving, and not discriminatory of any individual, even those with whom you disagree, you are well on the way to seeing Christ in your reflection and others will see that in you.
If, however, you discriminate because God created someone with a same sex orientation, or someone has been divorced, or worse yet, that an individual is not of the same nationality, race or religious denomination as you, then your reflection is going to be full of blotches, stains and streaks and your image in the mirror needs to be cleaned up.
Jesus Christ did not reject anyone, he called and welcomed all to himself, even those who were sinners so that he could forgive them and encourage them to “Go and Sin No More” He sat at table with all political and religious persons, rejecting no one, teaching them how to attain salvation. Christ endured suffering and even death on the cross in order to free us from the burden of sin and open the gates of heaven to all. His example should have told us that to live as He instructed would not be easy and that we might be ridiculed and rejected and even have to suffer in order to be truthful and live according to God’s will.
Christ and His Almighty Father have even given us a source of strength in the gifts bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit; Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.
The secret here is, we have to seek them out and ask God to bestow them upon you.
In closing I would like to share a prayer that I say every day.
Prayer for God’s Infinite Love
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD, March 24th 2006
Almighty and merciful God, open my mind, my heart, and my soul to your infinite love. Instill within me the knowledge of your truth. Guide me in your ways in all the things I do so that I may be unto others a reflection of your love towards them. Allow the light of your truth to flow through me, towards them, in order that they may come to know you better.
I pray that all those with whom I come in contact with, each and every day, may be brought into a closer union with you and enjoy the promise of Your salvation earned through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, in His passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
I humbly ask this in the name of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
May your spiritual reflection be crystal clear and bright and may Almighty God give you the fortitude to improve your reflection so that in it you and others see God clearly. AMEN
Something To Reflect Upon
Do You Reflect Christ’s Love?
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
When you look in your spiritual mirror what do you see? Is the reflection cast back at you sharp and clear or are there streaks or dirty spots on the mirror?
Can you see the infinite and everlasting mercy and love of Christ being reflected back at you?
If there are streaks or spots on your reflection ask yourself what is it in me that is causing those distortions. Possibly they are there because you are not totally accepting yourself as God’s child. They could be caused because you spend too much time thinking about yourself and your needs instead of finding out how you can reach out to help others less fortunate than you.
One thing that can cause dark shadows and streaks on your mirror reflection is the distance you put between you and Almighty God. You believe in God and turn to Him when in need of a special intention such as healing or a job, but do you take time every day to communicate with him as you would with your best friend and give thanks for all he has given you?
Sometimes, just possibly, when you look in the mirror you do not recognize the person staring back at you. You need to ask why.
There is of course those times when you can see another figure behind you who seems to be calling to you. That reflection can either be the dark, frighteening and foreboding presence of Satan who is trying to entice you to reject God and live for pleasure, fame and fortune, or it might be a beautiful luminescent image that seems to glow from within which is the reflection of God, the Holy Spirit or your gaurdian Angel whispering to you to follow the path of rightousness.
Take a good look at yourself in that mirror, do you reflect the infinite love and mercy of Jesus Christ to yourself and to all you encounter on your life journey ? Do you live your live in a way that would prompt God to praise you as “My good and faithful servant”? If so your image is crystal clear and exactly what you want to envision when you look in your spiritual mirror. What you see in that mirror is how others see you and react towards you. If you live your life always striving to be kind, generous, thoughtful, forgiving, and not discriminatory of any individual, even those with whom you disagree, you are well on the way to seeing Christ in your reflection and others will see that in you.
If, however, you discriminate because God created someone with a same sex orientation, or someone has been divorced, or worse yet, that an individual is not of the same nationality, race or religious denomination as you, then your reflection is going to be full of blotches, stains and streaks and your image in the mirror needs to be cleaned up.
Jesus Christ did not reject anyone, he called and welcomed all to himself, even those who were sinners so that he could forgive them and encourage them to “Go and Sin No More” He sat at table with all political and religious persons, rejecting no one, teaching them how to attain salvation. Christ endured suffering and even death on the cross in order to free us from the burden of sin and open the gates of heaven to all. His example should have told us that to live as He instructed would not be easy and that we might be ridiculed and rejected and even have to suffer in order to be truthful and live according to God’s will.
Christ and His Almighty Father have even given us a source of strength in the gifts bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit; Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.
The secret here is, we have to seek them out and ask God to bestow them upon you.
In closing I would like to share a prayer that I say every day.
Prayer for God’s Infinite Love
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD, March 24th 2006
Almighty and merciful God, open my mind, my heart, and my soul to your infinite love. Instill within me the knowledge of your truth. Guide me in your ways in all the things I do so that I may be unto others a reflection of your love towards them. Allow the light of your truth to flow through me, towards them, in order that they may come to know you better.
I pray that all those with whom I come in contact with, each and every day, may be brought into a closer union with you and enjoy the promise of Your salvation earned through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, in His passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
I humbly ask this in the name of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
May your spiritual reflection be crystal clear and bright and may Almighty God give you the fortitude to improve your reflection so that in it you and others see God clearly. AMEN
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
When you look in your spiritual mirror what do you see? Is the reflection cast back at you sharp and clear or are there streaks or dirty spots on the mirror?
Can you see the infinite and everlasting mercy and love of Christ being reflected back at you?
If there are streaks or spots on your reflection ask yourself what is it in me that is causing those distortions. Possibly they are there because you are not totally accepting yourself as God’s child. They could be caused because you spend too much time thinking about yourself and your needs instead of finding out how you can reach out to help others less fortunate than you.
One thing that can cause dark shadows and streaks on your mirror reflection is the distance you put between you and Almighty God. You believe in God and turn to Him when in need of a special intention such as healing or a job, but do you take time every day to communicate with him as you would with your best friend and give thanks for all he has given you?
Sometimes, just possibly, when you look in the mirror you do not recognize the person staring back at you. You need to ask why.
There is of course those times when you can see another figure behind you who seems to be calling to you. That reflection can either be the dark, frighteening and foreboding presence of Satan who is trying to entice you to reject God and live for pleasure, fame and fortune, or it might be a beautiful luminescent image that seems to glow from within which is the reflection of God, the Holy Spirit or your gaurdian Angel whispering to you to follow the path of rightousness.
Take a good look at yourself in that mirror, do you reflect the infinite love and mercy of Jesus Christ to yourself and to all you encounter on your life journey ? Do you live your live in a way that would prompt God to praise you as “My good and faithful servant”? If so your image is crystal clear and exactly what you want to envision when you look in your spiritual mirror. What you see in that mirror is how others see you and react towards you. If you live your life always striving to be kind, generous, thoughtful, forgiving, and not discriminatory of any individual, even those with whom you disagree, you are well on the way to seeing Christ in your reflection and others will see that in you.
If, however, you discriminate because God created someone with a same sex orientation, or someone has been divorced, or worse yet, that an individual is not of the same nationality, race or religious denomination as you, then your reflection is going to be full of blotches, stains and streaks and your image in the mirror needs to be cleaned up.
Jesus Christ did not reject anyone, he called and welcomed all to himself, even those who were sinners so that he could forgive them and encourage them to “Go and Sin No More” He sat at table with all political and religious persons, rejecting no one, teaching them how to attain salvation. Christ endured suffering and even death on the cross in order to free us from the burden of sin and open the gates of heaven to all. His example should have told us that to live as He instructed would not be easy and that we might be ridiculed and rejected and even have to suffer in order to be truthful and live according to God’s will.
Christ and His Almighty Father have even given us a source of strength in the gifts bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit; Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.
The secret here is, we have to seek them out and ask God to bestow them upon you.
In closing I would like to share a prayer that I say every day.
Prayer for God’s Infinite Love
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD, March 24th 2006
Almighty and merciful God, open my mind, my heart, and my soul to your infinite love. Instill within me the knowledge of your truth. Guide me in your ways in all the things I do so that I may be unto others a reflection of your love towards them. Allow the light of your truth to flow through me, towards them, in order that they may come to know you better.
I pray that all those with whom I come in contact with, each and every day, may be brought into a closer union with you and enjoy the promise of Your salvation earned through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, in His passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
I humbly ask this in the name of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
May your spiritual reflection be crystal clear and bright and may Almighty God give you the fortitude to improve your reflection so that in it you and others see God clearly. AMEN
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Anniversary Reflection
Anniversary of Ordination Reflection
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.Missionstsergius.org
On the Third anniversary of my ordination as a priest, August 15th, I reflect back on my feelings on the blessed opportunity and great challenge Almighty God has bestowed upon me.
“Your are a priest forever like Melchizedek of Old”, with these words a person goes from being a simple follower of Jesus Christ to an individual whose live is now dedicated completely to the service God and His children here on earth.
As such, you have the awesome responsibility of shepherding all God’s children. You become the hands, feet, mouth, heart and human voice of Almighty God here on earth.
You duty is to give solace and comfort to those in pain and always affirm God’s infinite love, mercy and forgiveness to all His children.
You need to always be uplifting and positive toward all even when you yourself do not feel that well. These responsibilities are to be extended to every child of God that you encounter as you go about your daily life. You need to stop thinking about yourself and focus on the needs of God’s children all over the globe, especially those who feel unwanted and rejected and in need of comfort and affirmation.
In a world that appears to be increasingly more self centered and absorbed in the material things of life and less interested in the needs of others and would rather use violence to settle disputes and differences instead of common sense, it is deeply disturbing and often seems to overwhelm you.
My heart becomes heavy when I see and hear children of God being turned away from participating in a faith community and being denied God’s gift to us, in the Eucharist because they are divorced or have been created by Almighty God with a same sex orientation.
Sadness fills me when I see dedicated men and women being denied the opportunity to serve God because they are married or worse still, just because their gender is female.
I ask myself why a person who is dedicated and has the necessary education and training and believes God is calling them to serve, be refused because of their marital state or sexual orientation. As long as they are willing to live their life in a way that would not bring dishonor to Almighty God they should be welcomed.
It saddens me and has caused much pain and suffering that some called to priesthood and the hierarchy forgot their duty and responsibility to God and failed to live their vows and damaged the trust of many. Good and faithful priests have been hurt by their actions and God’s children have become disillusioned because of what was allowed to happen.
All the titles and wealth of the world cannot raise a person any higher in the eyes of God than being a good and faithful humble servant as a priest.
We need to care for God‘s people as Christ would have cared for them. At times this can become overwhelming especially when you are handicapped by a lack or resources.
So many are hurting and I want to do so much more than I am doing and wonder if I am failing God or if my efforts are being lost because of my limitations.
I find it strange that when God has chosen to communicate with us here on earth either as himself or in the person of our Blessed mother He rarely made himself known to the rich and powerful but choose the poorest of His Children loved Him deeply and who have put their complete faith and trust in Him. St. Francis was a soldier, St. Joan a simple maiden, Juan Diego a peasant Indian, Padre Pio a simple priest, St. Bernadette a simple school girl. None of these were the hierarchy of the church. When they proclaimed what God directed them to do, they were ridiculed, scorned, persecuted and in some cases put to death. One has to wonder why God did not go directly to the hierarchy. Could it be that with their lofty titles and grandiose life styles had lost sight of God’s original intent? Could it be that they chose to use their positions of power to decipher the word of God to suite their own self interests?
I have pondered this often and I believe that this may well be the case.
To have been called by God to be a priest is a tremendous and overwhelming responsibility which I pray daily I am able to live up to. I am sure that God has called me for a special mission at this late stage of my life. I find His choice of me to be surprising and heady, filled with many roadblocks but I willing to accept His call knowing that if it is His will, He would give me the necessary things to do the task.
These past three years have been most humbling. Some of my family and friends and neighbors have rejected me because I do not agree with the rules instituted by the men who rule but in actuality have nothing to do with Christ’s teachings and the early church.
There have also been times that were spiritually uplifting and humbling you receive notes like these; “Thank you for being there in my time of crisis”, “I think the Mission is doing a great job. I wish there were something similar to it here where I live. To me the Catholic Church talks with a forked tongue as the Native Americans say”, “I read your messages and obtain a special insight into the Mass that I attend personally”, “You have more energy and compassion than even I! You give and ask nothing in return. You are indeed a follower of Jesus and Francis.” “Because of your reflections and affirming statement I have gone back to church after many years away”
I am constantly asking Almighty God to inspire me and guide me so that I may only bring honor and Glory to Him. I pray constantly that I can make a difference in the lives of those who come to me and bring them into a closer relationship with Almighty God. That is my only desire and prayer.
I recently said that we have to give ourselves over completely to God, subverting our own personal desires and putting lives in God’s hands. I believe that this is the only way that we can fully serve God. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane cried out "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Jesus gave himself over totally to God’s will teaching us to accept all God calls us to do even when it is not what you would rather do.
When I was called to be a priest, after so many years of feeling the call, and believing in my heart I was being called and being denied so many times because I had been married, too old or feeling unworthy of the call, I began to think it was not God’s will.
When, at age 71, I received the acceptance into the Franciscans and not just as a deacon which I had been ordained as in 1980, but as a priest. I accepted the call with the full knowledge that my life, as I had lived it and known, was over and I was to begin a new life, whose only purpose was to serve God with complete and total being.
I ask God to constantly lead me to where He wants me to go.
I trust He will provide me the strength, health, wisdom, means and courage to accept all that I need to do.
During this week of my Anniversary I implore each of you to pray for me and the ministry asking God to provide me with the tools necessary to reach out to all those whom this ministry is intended to reach and guide me by the gifts of The Holy Spirit to always know His will and to accept and do His will for as long as He chooses to allow me to be His humble and simple servant. AMEN
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.Missionstsergius.org
On the Third anniversary of my ordination as a priest, August 15th, I reflect back on my feelings on the blessed opportunity and great challenge Almighty God has bestowed upon me.
“Your are a priest forever like Melchizedek of Old”, with these words a person goes from being a simple follower of Jesus Christ to an individual whose live is now dedicated completely to the service God and His children here on earth.
As such, you have the awesome responsibility of shepherding all God’s children. You become the hands, feet, mouth, heart and human voice of Almighty God here on earth.
You duty is to give solace and comfort to those in pain and always affirm God’s infinite love, mercy and forgiveness to all His children.
You need to always be uplifting and positive toward all even when you yourself do not feel that well. These responsibilities are to be extended to every child of God that you encounter as you go about your daily life. You need to stop thinking about yourself and focus on the needs of God’s children all over the globe, especially those who feel unwanted and rejected and in need of comfort and affirmation.
In a world that appears to be increasingly more self centered and absorbed in the material things of life and less interested in the needs of others and would rather use violence to settle disputes and differences instead of common sense, it is deeply disturbing and often seems to overwhelm you.
My heart becomes heavy when I see and hear children of God being turned away from participating in a faith community and being denied God’s gift to us, in the Eucharist because they are divorced or have been created by Almighty God with a same sex orientation.
Sadness fills me when I see dedicated men and women being denied the opportunity to serve God because they are married or worse still, just because their gender is female.
I ask myself why a person who is dedicated and has the necessary education and training and believes God is calling them to serve, be refused because of their marital state or sexual orientation. As long as they are willing to live their life in a way that would not bring dishonor to Almighty God they should be welcomed.
It saddens me and has caused much pain and suffering that some called to priesthood and the hierarchy forgot their duty and responsibility to God and failed to live their vows and damaged the trust of many. Good and faithful priests have been hurt by their actions and God’s children have become disillusioned because of what was allowed to happen.
All the titles and wealth of the world cannot raise a person any higher in the eyes of God than being a good and faithful humble servant as a priest.
We need to care for God‘s people as Christ would have cared for them. At times this can become overwhelming especially when you are handicapped by a lack or resources.
So many are hurting and I want to do so much more than I am doing and wonder if I am failing God or if my efforts are being lost because of my limitations.
I find it strange that when God has chosen to communicate with us here on earth either as himself or in the person of our Blessed mother He rarely made himself known to the rich and powerful but choose the poorest of His Children loved Him deeply and who have put their complete faith and trust in Him. St. Francis was a soldier, St. Joan a simple maiden, Juan Diego a peasant Indian, Padre Pio a simple priest, St. Bernadette a simple school girl. None of these were the hierarchy of the church. When they proclaimed what God directed them to do, they were ridiculed, scorned, persecuted and in some cases put to death. One has to wonder why God did not go directly to the hierarchy. Could it be that with their lofty titles and grandiose life styles had lost sight of God’s original intent? Could it be that they chose to use their positions of power to decipher the word of God to suite their own self interests?
I have pondered this often and I believe that this may well be the case.
To have been called by God to be a priest is a tremendous and overwhelming responsibility which I pray daily I am able to live up to. I am sure that God has called me for a special mission at this late stage of my life. I find His choice of me to be surprising and heady, filled with many roadblocks but I willing to accept His call knowing that if it is His will, He would give me the necessary things to do the task.
These past three years have been most humbling. Some of my family and friends and neighbors have rejected me because I do not agree with the rules instituted by the men who rule but in actuality have nothing to do with Christ’s teachings and the early church.
There have also been times that were spiritually uplifting and humbling you receive notes like these; “Thank you for being there in my time of crisis”, “I think the Mission is doing a great job. I wish there were something similar to it here where I live. To me the Catholic Church talks with a forked tongue as the Native Americans say”, “I read your messages and obtain a special insight into the Mass that I attend personally”, “You have more energy and compassion than even I! You give and ask nothing in return. You are indeed a follower of Jesus and Francis.” “Because of your reflections and affirming statement I have gone back to church after many years away”
I am constantly asking Almighty God to inspire me and guide me so that I may only bring honor and Glory to Him. I pray constantly that I can make a difference in the lives of those who come to me and bring them into a closer relationship with Almighty God. That is my only desire and prayer.
I recently said that we have to give ourselves over completely to God, subverting our own personal desires and putting lives in God’s hands. I believe that this is the only way that we can fully serve God. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane cried out "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Jesus gave himself over totally to God’s will teaching us to accept all God calls us to do even when it is not what you would rather do.
When I was called to be a priest, after so many years of feeling the call, and believing in my heart I was being called and being denied so many times because I had been married, too old or feeling unworthy of the call, I began to think it was not God’s will.
When, at age 71, I received the acceptance into the Franciscans and not just as a deacon which I had been ordained as in 1980, but as a priest. I accepted the call with the full knowledge that my life, as I had lived it and known, was over and I was to begin a new life, whose only purpose was to serve God with complete and total being.
I ask God to constantly lead me to where He wants me to go.
I trust He will provide me the strength, health, wisdom, means and courage to accept all that I need to do.
During this week of my Anniversary I implore each of you to pray for me and the ministry asking God to provide me with the tools necessary to reach out to all those whom this ministry is intended to reach and guide me by the gifts of The Holy Spirit to always know His will and to accept and do His will for as long as He chooses to allow me to be His humble and simple servant. AMEN
Thursday, July 17, 2008
What is the Root of All Evil?
A Reflection for Sunday July 20th 2008
By Rev. Fr. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
We often hear the expression “Money is the root of all evil” and sometimes it seems that it is very true.All we have to do is look at the current situation in the world and more explicitly in the United States and ponder if that is not the case.
In reality the root of all evil is NOT money but man’s DESIRE FOR POWER and symbols of status; greed and the seeking of great wealth to increase one’s status in the eyes of powerful people, or jealousy over losing control over people because of a loss of status in the world of finance is the actual cause of the evil that often occurs.
Money is an obvious measure of one’s status, so it’s easy to confuse the two.The actual statement from which this expression came is; “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” and is found in Timothy, 6:10.
Even some Religious denominations have succumbed to this desire for money not for humanitarian use but for status and the symbols of status and power.
This past week we have seen something we have not seen since the depression in 1934, long lines of people rushing a bank to withdraw their savings because the bank had collapsed. We have also seen people loosing their homes due to foreclosure because of the practices of unscrupulous banks whose only goal was to increase their stock value and the dividends to their stockholders and obscene salaries of CEOs. Because of the actions of the business tycoons and greedy politicians millions of our low income and elderly citizens are suffering significantly, which is most certainly an intrinsic evil.
The reading from the book of Wisdom 12 for this Sunday talks about being kind to your brothers and sisters in Christ, which is every individual on the face of the earth. “You are mild in judgment, you govern us with great lenience, for you have only to will, and your power is there. By acting thus you have taught a lesson to your people how the virtuous man must be kindly to his fellow men” It is sad that our government leaders do not follow this kind of governing.Kindness, Compassion, Justice, Mercy, and Charity are virtues that often seem to be in short supply in our world today. They have been replaced with the notion that we should live with the concept of “obscene salaries of CEOs”
In August 2004 Andrew Greeley wrote in the Chicago Sun Times; “The most serious spiritual problem in the country today is reckless and untrammeled greed. Greed caused the disgraceful corporate scandals that fill our newspapers. Greed is responsible for crooked cops and crooked politicians. Greed causes the constant efforts to destroy unions that protect basic worker rights. Greed has produced rash tax cuts that have given money to the rich and in effect taken it away from the poor.”
Unfortunately things have not changed but only gotten worse. The oil companies continue to earn exorbitant profits which have caused the prices for gasoline and heating oil to almost double in the last year. Coupled with the fact that many of them hold the rights to explore for oil on vast tracts of land in and off shore the US that they are not using. This is an prime example of Greed causing great evil because it is hurting those who can least afford to be hurt, the poor, aged and ill.In his comments in 2004 Andrew Greeley went on to say; “No one said during the bizarre deification of President Reagan that he taught us that greed is good and that we should feel good about our greedy country. Greed is the reason that the country is being run by the insurance, pharmaceutical, weapons and petroleum industries. Greed causes worldwide sex slavery of women and children.”
This situation has only gotten worse in the last four years. One of the results of all this is that agencies like food banks, the Salvation Army and churches, our included, that attempt to relieve the suffering of the poor, aged and ill have experienced a great drop is their donations which have resulted in their inability to help all those who need it.
The time is now for every person who claims to be a God fearing follower of Jesus Christ to look deeply within themselves and seek the Holy Spirit’s help is making the changes necessary in ourselves to eliminate this source of evil from our mindset and help us to be more mindful of the needs of others.Today’s reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans affirms that; "The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. … and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well” from Romans 8:26 - 27
Let us rid ourselves of self indulgence and instead begin to find way to be charitable, compassionate , forgiving and most importantly, True followers of Christ by living as followers of Christ and loving, caring for our neighbor ( every human on the face of the earth) as Christ loved and cared for all He encountered. AMEN
A Reflection for Sunday July 20th 2008
By Rev. Fr. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
We often hear the expression “Money is the root of all evil” and sometimes it seems that it is very true.All we have to do is look at the current situation in the world and more explicitly in the United States and ponder if that is not the case.
In reality the root of all evil is NOT money but man’s DESIRE FOR POWER and symbols of status; greed and the seeking of great wealth to increase one’s status in the eyes of powerful people, or jealousy over losing control over people because of a loss of status in the world of finance is the actual cause of the evil that often occurs.
Money is an obvious measure of one’s status, so it’s easy to confuse the two.The actual statement from which this expression came is; “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” and is found in Timothy, 6:10.
Even some Religious denominations have succumbed to this desire for money not for humanitarian use but for status and the symbols of status and power.
This past week we have seen something we have not seen since the depression in 1934, long lines of people rushing a bank to withdraw their savings because the bank had collapsed. We have also seen people loosing their homes due to foreclosure because of the practices of unscrupulous banks whose only goal was to increase their stock value and the dividends to their stockholders and obscene salaries of CEOs. Because of the actions of the business tycoons and greedy politicians millions of our low income and elderly citizens are suffering significantly, which is most certainly an intrinsic evil.
The reading from the book of Wisdom 12 for this Sunday talks about being kind to your brothers and sisters in Christ, which is every individual on the face of the earth. “You are mild in judgment, you govern us with great lenience, for you have only to will, and your power is there. By acting thus you have taught a lesson to your people how the virtuous man must be kindly to his fellow men” It is sad that our government leaders do not follow this kind of governing.Kindness, Compassion, Justice, Mercy, and Charity are virtues that often seem to be in short supply in our world today. They have been replaced with the notion that we should live with the concept of “obscene salaries of CEOs”
In August 2004 Andrew Greeley wrote in the Chicago Sun Times; “The most serious spiritual problem in the country today is reckless and untrammeled greed. Greed caused the disgraceful corporate scandals that fill our newspapers. Greed is responsible for crooked cops and crooked politicians. Greed causes the constant efforts to destroy unions that protect basic worker rights. Greed has produced rash tax cuts that have given money to the rich and in effect taken it away from the poor.”
Unfortunately things have not changed but only gotten worse. The oil companies continue to earn exorbitant profits which have caused the prices for gasoline and heating oil to almost double in the last year. Coupled with the fact that many of them hold the rights to explore for oil on vast tracts of land in and off shore the US that they are not using. This is an prime example of Greed causing great evil because it is hurting those who can least afford to be hurt, the poor, aged and ill.In his comments in 2004 Andrew Greeley went on to say; “No one said during the bizarre deification of President Reagan that he taught us that greed is good and that we should feel good about our greedy country. Greed is the reason that the country is being run by the insurance, pharmaceutical, weapons and petroleum industries. Greed causes worldwide sex slavery of women and children.”
This situation has only gotten worse in the last four years. One of the results of all this is that agencies like food banks, the Salvation Army and churches, our included, that attempt to relieve the suffering of the poor, aged and ill have experienced a great drop is their donations which have resulted in their inability to help all those who need it.
The time is now for every person who claims to be a God fearing follower of Jesus Christ to look deeply within themselves and seek the Holy Spirit’s help is making the changes necessary in ourselves to eliminate this source of evil from our mindset and help us to be more mindful of the needs of others.Today’s reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans affirms that; "The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. … and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well” from Romans 8:26 - 27
Let us rid ourselves of self indulgence and instead begin to find way to be charitable, compassionate , forgiving and most importantly, True followers of Christ by living as followers of Christ and loving, caring for our neighbor ( every human on the face of the earth) as Christ loved and cared for all He encountered. AMEN
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Do You Hear God’s Teaching?
A Reflection for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Reformed Catholic Church International
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me. Matthew 13:1 - 23
These words taken from the Gospel for this Sunday may very well describe the condition of our country and to the rest of the world.It would appear that we as people have not learned much since Paul wrote these words in his letter to the Romans 8:18-23 “but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.”
Throughout history the children of God have sought to find a place where they were treated with respect and dignity and acknowledged for their inner self and not for their race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, or their wealth. Even in this country that proclaims to be founded on the principal that “ALL PEOPLE ARE CREATED EQUAL” distinctions are made because of a persons wealth, or race, creed, marital situation or sexual orientation.
Paul begins his letter to the Romans “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature ….And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
If we are meant to please God one might ask how we do that. The answer, as far as I am concerned, is simple. We please God by first of all giving God the thanks and praise that He deserves for all He has provided us with and then we show compassion, respect, equality and charity toward all God children no matter who or where we encounter them. Just as Christ told them many things in parables the word of God is not always clear to us and often given mistaken interpretations in order to meet the popular views of the time in order to maintain wealth and power.
In today’s Gospel we hear the parable of the sower who scattered seed and some fell along the edge of the path, some on rock, some on thorns and some on fertile soil. Only the seeds that fell on fertile soil grew and bore fruit, the rest died for one reason or another. So it is with the Truth of Christ’s teachings.Jesus goes on to say in this Gospel; “Listen, anyone who has ears!…they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled: You will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive. For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me.”
When we are true to the teachings of Christ and adhere to His teachings, giving Love to all God’s children as He gave Love to all He encountered, forgoing the man made rules that have caused division and suffering to so many, then and only then will we be true to Christ teachings and give honor and glory to Almighty God.The family of God need to become a true loving, compassionate, caring, family and look out for the well being of every member of the family, not just the select few who meet our standards.We need to work to end the violence, hunger, homelessness and suffering so many are encountering and find was to lift the sick, poor, and aged up so that they can enjoy some of life’s basic needs.
The Gospel reading ends with these words; “Happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path.”
Let us not receive God’s truth as given us by Jesus Christ and then go our way accepting only that which suites us and seek only wealth, power and material and physical pleasure, for when we do we give ourselves over to the temptations of the evil one and are in danger of loosing our heavenly reward.All God’s children are precious to Him and should be to all of us who consider ourselves followers of Christ. AMEN
A Reflection for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Reformed Catholic Church International
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me. Matthew 13:1 - 23
These words taken from the Gospel for this Sunday may very well describe the condition of our country and to the rest of the world.It would appear that we as people have not learned much since Paul wrote these words in his letter to the Romans 8:18-23 “but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.”
Throughout history the children of God have sought to find a place where they were treated with respect and dignity and acknowledged for their inner self and not for their race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, or their wealth. Even in this country that proclaims to be founded on the principal that “ALL PEOPLE ARE CREATED EQUAL” distinctions are made because of a persons wealth, or race, creed, marital situation or sexual orientation.
Paul begins his letter to the Romans “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature ….And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
If we are meant to please God one might ask how we do that. The answer, as far as I am concerned, is simple. We please God by first of all giving God the thanks and praise that He deserves for all He has provided us with and then we show compassion, respect, equality and charity toward all God children no matter who or where we encounter them. Just as Christ told them many things in parables the word of God is not always clear to us and often given mistaken interpretations in order to meet the popular views of the time in order to maintain wealth and power.
In today’s Gospel we hear the parable of the sower who scattered seed and some fell along the edge of the path, some on rock, some on thorns and some on fertile soil. Only the seeds that fell on fertile soil grew and bore fruit, the rest died for one reason or another. So it is with the Truth of Christ’s teachings.Jesus goes on to say in this Gospel; “Listen, anyone who has ears!…they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled: You will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive. For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me.”
When we are true to the teachings of Christ and adhere to His teachings, giving Love to all God’s children as He gave Love to all He encountered, forgoing the man made rules that have caused division and suffering to so many, then and only then will we be true to Christ teachings and give honor and glory to Almighty God.The family of God need to become a true loving, compassionate, caring, family and look out for the well being of every member of the family, not just the select few who meet our standards.We need to work to end the violence, hunger, homelessness and suffering so many are encountering and find was to lift the sick, poor, and aged up so that they can enjoy some of life’s basic needs.
The Gospel reading ends with these words; “Happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path.”
Let us not receive God’s truth as given us by Jesus Christ and then go our way accepting only that which suites us and seek only wealth, power and material and physical pleasure, for when we do we give ourselves over to the temptations of the evil one and are in danger of loosing our heavenly reward.All God’s children are precious to Him and should be to all of us who consider ourselves followers of Christ. AMEN
Friday, June 06, 2008
Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time/ Pride Week Reflection
Let Us Return To The Lord
A Reflection for the Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus
http://www.missionstsergius.org
http://www.missionstsergius.org/Franciscans_of_Divine_Mercy/
For the mass Readings this week we can choose from Genesis 12:1-9 or Hosea 5:15-6:6, Psalm 33:1-12 or Psalm 50:7-15,Romans 4:13-25 and Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26. They all have a common theme and it is one of Promise, Repentance, a God who is Faithful, Loves Justice and Fairness has Infinite Steadfast Love for ALL His Children.
Paul’s letter to the Romans tells us of God’s grace and how it will lead us to righteousness.
The Gospel emphasizes the point that with faith all things are possible. It begins with Jesus saying to Matthew “Come, follow Me” and without hesitation or any question as to why, Matthew followed Jesus and, of course, is attributed to be the writer of the Gospel.
When all the readings are taken together they give us good reason to follow Christ and in so doing, to be faithful to Almighty God who created us.
This weeks message is very powerful for many reasons. The reading from Genesis tells of the blind faith and trust in God that Abraham, whom Paul calls in his letter to the Romans, “The father of all of us”, and Sarah left friends, family and all things to follow God’s command and how they believed in His promise.
This is very fitting for this day and age when people use discrimination to justify their actions against others. Abraham, as father of all nations is acknowledged by Jews, Arabs and Christians as the source of their nations and the foundation of their faiths, yet they do not act as a loving family but as enemies toward each other. The question we need to ask ourselves is “WHY?” A possible answer is that they do not have complete faith in God as the woman in the Gospel story had when she thought to herself "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." Jesus sensing her thoughts turns to her and says; "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.”
Absolute faith is complete trust in God, placing God before all else. That is what we need to do today just as Abraham and Sarah did. If we do this, God will, in His mercy, justice and love grant unto us what we are asking.
Christ did not come to earth to lead and guide those with complete faith and trust in God, he came to let us know that no matter how we may have strayed or sinned, we can still return to God because God is a loving and merciful God who never stops loving us. We are reminded of that also in the Gospel story when Christ is challenged by the Pharisees for eating with tax collectors and sinners to which Christ replied "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
In many areas of the world this week begins what has come to be called “Gay Pride Week” and Boston is one of those cities in the US. These readings also contain a message for the GLBT community and those who discriminate against them and immigrants. Just as Abraham and Sarah left Haran, to follow God’s instruction, GLBT folks are often forced to leave family and friends and immigrants leave their homes for a better life in a country they believe is one of acceptance and hope. We, who claim to be followers of Christ’s teachings, must leave our fears and prejudices behind and respond to the call of God to “Love one another as I have loved you”. Far too often, a break with family happens for LGBT folks under conditions that are characterized by alienation, hostility, violence and even suicide brought on by how their families and friends and peers treat them. Even when relations are less strained, differences in experiences and ways of life can make LGBT people feel as removed from their families of origin as those who travel great distances and endured great trials to reach this country.
Yet the story of Abraham reminds us that coming out of one situation and traveling into another has always been a part of the journey of faith. Neither the difficulties nor the joys encountered during his travels where completely revealed to Abraham in advance. Similarly, our own future difficulties and joys are seldom revealed to us. Nevertheless, "hoping against hope," and sustained by "the steadfast love of God" referred to in Psalm 33:5, we, like Abraham and Sarah, come out of current circumstances to journey towards God's welcoming arms and infinite love for each of us.
Our blessings, moreover, are not only for ourselves. As God tells Abraham, "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" when people "come out" to a journey chosen by God.
Hosea 6:6 reminds us “For I desire goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.” which are the same words Jesus replied to those who questioned his sitting with sinners.
Let us return to God giving Him our complete faith, trust and love and live our lives as Christ instructed us by loving one another as He loved us. Let us put an end to discrimination, rejection and alienation of those who may have different religions beliefs, sexual orientation of national roots and remember that Abraham was father to ALL Nations and therefore we are all BROTHERS AND SISTERS in Christ and children of GOD.
A Reflection for the Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus
http://www.missionstsergius.org
http://www.missionstsergius.org/Franciscans_of_Divine_Mercy/
For the mass Readings this week we can choose from Genesis 12:1-9 or Hosea 5:15-6:6, Psalm 33:1-12 or Psalm 50:7-15,Romans 4:13-25 and Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26. They all have a common theme and it is one of Promise, Repentance, a God who is Faithful, Loves Justice and Fairness has Infinite Steadfast Love for ALL His Children.
Paul’s letter to the Romans tells us of God’s grace and how it will lead us to righteousness.
The Gospel emphasizes the point that with faith all things are possible. It begins with Jesus saying to Matthew “Come, follow Me” and without hesitation or any question as to why, Matthew followed Jesus and, of course, is attributed to be the writer of the Gospel.
When all the readings are taken together they give us good reason to follow Christ and in so doing, to be faithful to Almighty God who created us.
This weeks message is very powerful for many reasons. The reading from Genesis tells of the blind faith and trust in God that Abraham, whom Paul calls in his letter to the Romans, “The father of all of us”, and Sarah left friends, family and all things to follow God’s command and how they believed in His promise.
This is very fitting for this day and age when people use discrimination to justify their actions against others. Abraham, as father of all nations is acknowledged by Jews, Arabs and Christians as the source of their nations and the foundation of their faiths, yet they do not act as a loving family but as enemies toward each other. The question we need to ask ourselves is “WHY?” A possible answer is that they do not have complete faith in God as the woman in the Gospel story had when she thought to herself "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." Jesus sensing her thoughts turns to her and says; "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.”
Absolute faith is complete trust in God, placing God before all else. That is what we need to do today just as Abraham and Sarah did. If we do this, God will, in His mercy, justice and love grant unto us what we are asking.
Christ did not come to earth to lead and guide those with complete faith and trust in God, he came to let us know that no matter how we may have strayed or sinned, we can still return to God because God is a loving and merciful God who never stops loving us. We are reminded of that also in the Gospel story when Christ is challenged by the Pharisees for eating with tax collectors and sinners to which Christ replied "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
In many areas of the world this week begins what has come to be called “Gay Pride Week” and Boston is one of those cities in the US. These readings also contain a message for the GLBT community and those who discriminate against them and immigrants. Just as Abraham and Sarah left Haran, to follow God’s instruction, GLBT folks are often forced to leave family and friends and immigrants leave their homes for a better life in a country they believe is one of acceptance and hope. We, who claim to be followers of Christ’s teachings, must leave our fears and prejudices behind and respond to the call of God to “Love one another as I have loved you”. Far too often, a break with family happens for LGBT folks under conditions that are characterized by alienation, hostility, violence and even suicide brought on by how their families and friends and peers treat them. Even when relations are less strained, differences in experiences and ways of life can make LGBT people feel as removed from their families of origin as those who travel great distances and endured great trials to reach this country.
Yet the story of Abraham reminds us that coming out of one situation and traveling into another has always been a part of the journey of faith. Neither the difficulties nor the joys encountered during his travels where completely revealed to Abraham in advance. Similarly, our own future difficulties and joys are seldom revealed to us. Nevertheless, "hoping against hope," and sustained by "the steadfast love of God" referred to in Psalm 33:5, we, like Abraham and Sarah, come out of current circumstances to journey towards God's welcoming arms and infinite love for each of us.
Our blessings, moreover, are not only for ourselves. As God tells Abraham, "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" when people "come out" to a journey chosen by God.
Hosea 6:6 reminds us “For I desire goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.” which are the same words Jesus replied to those who questioned his sitting with sinners.
Let us return to God giving Him our complete faith, trust and love and live our lives as Christ instructed us by loving one another as He loved us. Let us put an end to discrimination, rejection and alienation of those who may have different religions beliefs, sexual orientation of national roots and remember that Abraham was father to ALL Nations and therefore we are all BROTHERS AND SISTERS in Christ and children of GOD.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Beinbg Proud of Your Christianity
Be Proud of Being a Christian
A Reflection for Seventh Sunday After Easter
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
The readings today are very powerful and affirming as they instruct us to be proud of being a follower of Christ, A Christian, and infer that when we are punished or ridiculed by others for proclaiming our faith and living out our faith as Jesus instructed, we should realize how much Christ loves us because He allows us to share in His suffering.
“If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you. None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if anyone of you should suffer for being a Christian, then he is not to be ashamed of it; he should thank God that he has been called one.” (1 Peter 4:13 - 16)
Being called a Christian is not an insult, or something to be ashamed of, it is a heavenly honor bestowed upon us by Almighty God and His beloved son, Jesus Christ.
Let us face it, in today’s society many people claim to be Christians, but when you look closely, their actions are diametrically opposite the teachings of Christ. Many discriminate and reject God’s children for reasons that are selfish or based on ignorance. People are refused participation in the worship of God because of their race, nationality, or sexual orientation or divorce. Children are refused Baptism because their parent is a single parent. This is not what Jesus taught.
If we are ashamed to live and act as Christ taught us and showed us by His actions, then we should not claim we are Christian.
If we do not have compassion for the sick, aged, homeless, and poor and reach out to help them, then we cannot claim to be a follower of Christ.
If we do not support and assist in the work of those who try to live the teachings of Christ by giving back some of the gifts God has provided us, we can not claim to be living out the message of Christ.
Being proud to be a Christian means we are not ashamed to say a prayer of thanksgiving to God before eating a meal;, even when that is in a public place.
Being proud and living out a Christian life means to be active in the ministry of Christ and worshiping God by prayer, receiving the Gift of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist, and speaking out against injustice when ever we encounter it.
The Gospel reading from John 17:1 - 21 is the prayer Christ said in the Garden just before being betrayed and handed over to fulfill the plan of our salvation.
“Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; and, through the power over all mankind that you have given him, let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. Moreover, eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ….. I have made your name known to the men you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they know that all you have given me comes indeed from you; for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have truly accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. I pray for them; I am praying for those you have given me, because they belong to you: all I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified… Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.’ While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. ….. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth… I have sent them into the world… While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. …..I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
This prayer ends with Christ asking God, His Father, to protect from the Evil one all who accept to live as Christians and commissioning us to go out into the world and proclaim God’s will by word and deed.
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
Christ not only gave us The Truth, but He was the Light that showed us the way to the Father and that was is to live out our lives in the same way Christ, St. Francis and Mother Teresa of Calcutta and all those who speak out against injustice, poverty, homelessness, and discrimination have before us.
Being proud of your Christianity is to live your life every day by being Christ centered in prayer, word, action and doing it without fear of being ridiculed for it. AMEN
A Reflection for Seventh Sunday After Easter
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
The readings today are very powerful and affirming as they instruct us to be proud of being a follower of Christ, A Christian, and infer that when we are punished or ridiculed by others for proclaiming our faith and living out our faith as Jesus instructed, we should realize how much Christ loves us because He allows us to share in His suffering.
“If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you. None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if anyone of you should suffer for being a Christian, then he is not to be ashamed of it; he should thank God that he has been called one.” (1 Peter 4:13 - 16)
Being called a Christian is not an insult, or something to be ashamed of, it is a heavenly honor bestowed upon us by Almighty God and His beloved son, Jesus Christ.
Let us face it, in today’s society many people claim to be Christians, but when you look closely, their actions are diametrically opposite the teachings of Christ. Many discriminate and reject God’s children for reasons that are selfish or based on ignorance. People are refused participation in the worship of God because of their race, nationality, or sexual orientation or divorce. Children are refused Baptism because their parent is a single parent. This is not what Jesus taught.
If we are ashamed to live and act as Christ taught us and showed us by His actions, then we should not claim we are Christian.
If we do not have compassion for the sick, aged, homeless, and poor and reach out to help them, then we cannot claim to be a follower of Christ.
If we do not support and assist in the work of those who try to live the teachings of Christ by giving back some of the gifts God has provided us, we can not claim to be living out the message of Christ.
Being proud to be a Christian means we are not ashamed to say a prayer of thanksgiving to God before eating a meal;, even when that is in a public place.
Being proud and living out a Christian life means to be active in the ministry of Christ and worshiping God by prayer, receiving the Gift of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist, and speaking out against injustice when ever we encounter it.
The Gospel reading from John 17:1 - 21 is the prayer Christ said in the Garden just before being betrayed and handed over to fulfill the plan of our salvation.
“Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; and, through the power over all mankind that you have given him, let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. Moreover, eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ….. I have made your name known to the men you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they know that all you have given me comes indeed from you; for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have truly accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. I pray for them; I am praying for those you have given me, because they belong to you: all I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified… Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.’ While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. ….. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth… I have sent them into the world… While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. …..I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
This prayer ends with Christ asking God, His Father, to protect from the Evil one all who accept to live as Christians and commissioning us to go out into the world and proclaim God’s will by word and deed.
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
Christ not only gave us The Truth, but He was the Light that showed us the way to the Father and that was is to live out our lives in the same way Christ, St. Francis and Mother Teresa of Calcutta and all those who speak out against injustice, poverty, homelessness, and discrimination have before us.
Being proud of your Christianity is to live your life every day by being Christ centered in prayer, word, action and doing it without fear of being ridiculed for it. AMEN
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